Virat Kohli says no to Chole Puri, relishes Kadhi Chawal with Delhi mates; here’s how India star spent day 1 at Kotla

It was a homecoming for Virat Kohli when the former India captain entered the Arun Jaitley Stadium through the Virender Sehwag gate on a chilly  Tuesday morning. Except for pacer Navdeep Saini, all the remaining 18 members of the Delhi squad have grown up watching Virat Kohli on television as the batting maestro donned the Delhi jersey for the first time after 13 years. The last time Virat Kohli played a Ranji Trophy game for Delhi was back in 2012.

Over the last 13 years, Virat Kohli has become the most prominent commercial brand in global cricket. In fact, he was showcased as the face of the ICC during their Olympic bid presentation.

The 36-year-old was the cynosure of all eyes on the ground as he trained with the side for three hours. He was also seen having a brief chat with his former U-19 coach, Mahesh Bhatti, who is the manager of the Delhi side. “Woh badlaa nahi hain,” a senior Delhi and Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) official told PTI.

“Usko chhole-poori pasand the aur humne mangaake rakhha thaa. Usne bola chole puri nahi khawoonga (He loves chhole poori, we made arrangements for him but he said he didn’t want it),” he added.

Interestingly, after practice, Virat Kohli had his favourite dish – Kadhi Chawal – with the rest of his teammates. “Practice ke baad purane time ki tarah kadhi chawal khaya sabke saath (He had kadhi chawal with everyone),” revealed the official.

How Virat Kohli’s day 1 in training looked like?

Ahead of the inconsequential game against Railways, the whole team warmed up for a good 35 minutes. In fact, this was the longest time Delhi spent on warm-ups this season. After that, there was a 15-minute football game before Virat Kohli and Co. had some sprints.

At the nets, Virat Kohli was business as usual with the game face on. Along with captain Ayush Badoni, Virat Kohli went up to the nets and told his skipper “Ayush tu batting karle, phir dono switch karke karenge (Ayush you keep batting. After some time we will take turns to bat.)”

The stylish right-hander spent close to an hour at the nets. He started by taking a few throw-downs, during which he kept practising the pull shots. Once done with knocking, Virat Kohli went to the spinners’ nets, facing the likes of Harsh Tyagi and Sumit Mathur.

Lately, Virat Kohli has had trouble with deliveries on the off-side. The batting stalwart left a few deliveries as he looked at ease at the nets. He was seen trying to play a lot beside the line of deliveries. In fact, Virat Kohli expressed happiness with the nature of the wickets and told Bhatti that he will be coming the next day to bat again.

Virat Kohli’s chat with little Kabir

The wholesome moment of the day when a fourth-standard student, Kabir, came to Virat Kohli with a sketch of the former captain. Incidentally, Kabir is the son of Shavez, who was Virat Kohli’s teammate when the duo played for Delhi U-17 and U-19s.

He autographed Kabir’s sketch and also had a burst of laughter with Shavez, probably recalling their younger days. When Kabir was asked about his conversation with Kohli, he said: “I asked him how can I play for India? He said, ‘You have to practice hard. And it shouldn’t be your Papa telling you to go to practice. You should tell Papa, I have to go to practice’.”

Virat Kohli’s message to Delhi teammates

Like a brother, Virat Kohli tried to boost the morale of his teammates. With just one win, two losses and three draws, Delhi are lying sixth with 14 points from six matches. Referring to their inconsistent season, Virat Kohli said, “Delhiwaale ho, dum dikhao. Shuruat accha kiya phir thande padh gaye. Positive khelo jaise Delhiwaale khelte hain (You belong to Delhi, show some power. You guys started well but then lost your way. Play positive like the way Delhi always do).”