True Dedication

The day was December 18th, 2006. Karnataka and Delhi played in the Ranji Trophy tournament at the Ferozshah Kotla in Delhi. Karnataka had posted 446 in the first innings and reduced Delhi to 103/5 with two young boys named Virat (batting at 40) and Bisht (batting at 28). The day’s game ended, and Virat went home tired. His world would change that night as his father Prem Kohli passed away due to a cerebral attack during the wee hours of December 19, 2006. Mithun Manhas was leading Delhi and had become reconciled to the fact that the first innings lead was hard to achieve. "I normally reach Kotla at 7.45 a.m. but I don't know why I was at the stadium gate 15 minutes earlier than my routine. When I reached the dressing room, I saw Virat sitting (on the bench in the corridor) and holding his head. I was worried," remembered Manhas. "What's wrong, beta?" asked Manhas. "I lost my father," the youngster mumbled. "I was shocked and honestly did not know how to react," Manhas recalled." This was a situation I had not experienced. There were just the two of us in that corridor, and I looked around for a while to see if I could get someone to help comfort the boy. There was no one."

Manhas asked Virat to go home, but the latter responded promptly, "I want to play." The Delhi captain asked, "Why? Why do you want to play?" "Sir, the atmosphere at home is heart-breaking. My family and coach also want me to continue with my innings. They have sent me to play," Virat told him in a matter-of-fact manner. "I was stunned by the boy's dedication even in this hour of grief," said Manhas in an interview. Virat went out to bat and radiated such confidence at the crease that his batting partner Bisht was inspired to give his best. Bisht made 156 in that game, but Virat was dismissed when batting at 90 because of a questionable "caught behind" umpiring call. He headed for the crematorium from Ferozhshah Kotla.

Starting with Mithun Manhas, the Delhi Ranji team, Delhi coach Chetan Chauhan and the two umpires PS Gobole and MSS Ranawat, everyone who came to know about the tragedy couldn’t fathom how Virat padded up and looked normal under the circumstances. For Virat, it was a way of paying tribute to his father who had always supported his ambitions to be a cricketer. The sportsman within gave Virat the courage to face this irreparable personal tragedy, and he was off to the Ferozeshah Kotla to continue with his knock that had halted with the day's play at 40. Delhi was in a difficult position and here was a youngster trying his best to save his team from embarrassment while overcoming such monumental grief at home. Virat’s discipline had admirers in the Karnataka camp, too. For Venkatesh Prasad, former seamer of the Indian team and the coach for Karnataka during that tournament, it was the second time he watched a teammate return to the cricket field from his father's funeral. In 1999, a certain Sachin Tendulkar had shown similar commitment at the World Cup in England. "It was a very emotional moment. We were not even aware that Sachin had flown back home for the funeral. India's performance against Zimbabwe was terrible, as it suffered a loss that shocked the fans. Tendulkar joined the team for the next match against Kenya and came up with a century in Bristol as a fitting tribute to his late father. For coach Venkatesh Prasad, Virat’s act was exemplary grit and dedication.

“True grit is making a decision and standing by it, doing what must be done. No moral man can have peace of mind if he leaves undone what he knows he should have done.” - John Wayne