Virat Kohli Recalls Incident When His Late Father Refused to Bribe for State Selection and Taught Him Invaluable Lesson

Virat Kohli recalled the impact his later father Prem had on him and how his father’s values and principles helped shape his cricket career. Kohli lost his father at 18 but by then he had learnt the integrity and straightforwardness his father shared and instilled those values in himself. And he says those, among many other things, helped carve a successful cricket career for himself. In an Instagram chat sow named Eleven on Ten hosted by Indian football captain Sunil Chhetri, Kohli reminisced an incident from his junior days when his later father refused to bribe a cricket official for a place for his son in the state cricket team. Virat Kohli Ready to Play Himself in His Biopic if Wife Anushka Sharma Stars in It.

“In my home State (Delhi), sometimes things happen which are not fair. On one occasion, a certain someone did not play by the rules when it came to selection criteria,” Kohli recalled. “He told my father that while I had the merit to be selected, a little extra (possibly a bribe) was needed to confirm my selection.” But Kohli’s father rejected the offer straightway and clearly stated that his son should only be selected to play on merit and not on any exchange for money. Sunil Chhetri on Chat With Virat Kohli, Says 'Two Kids Talking About Growing Up in 90s'.

Virat Kohli, Sunil Chhetri Live Chat on Instagram

“My father — an honest middle-class man who had worked hard all his life to become a successful lawyer — did not even understand what ‘little extra’ meant. My father simply said, ‘If you want to select Virat, then let it be purely on merit. I will give you nothing extra’. I didn’t get selected. I cried a lot; I was broken. But that incident taught me a lot,” he added.

Kohli then explained what the incident taught him and how his father through standing tall against an adversary taught him a great lesson. “I realised that I had to be extraordinary to become successful and that I had to achieve this purely through my own effort and hard work. My father showed me the right way, through action and not merely words.”

Kohli also said although his father’s death was a tragedy in the family, it motivated him to work harder and move forward with his career. “I accepted his death, as I was focused on moving forward with my career,” said the run-machine.

“In fact, I went and batted in a Ranji Trophy match the day after he died. His death made me realise that I had to make something of my life. I think about how nice it would be if I could have given my father the peaceful retired life that he deserved. At times, I get emotional thinking about him,” he added.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 18, 2020 07:27 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).