Boy with a swag

Some 26 odd years ago, a tiny boy with dark eyes and a captivating smile entered the gates of Vishal Bharti Public School, Paschim Vihar, New Delhi, following his elder siblings Vikas Kohli and Bhawna Kohli. It was none other than the young Virat Kohli — captain of the Indian cricket team.

“He could win just any heart with his bright sparkling eyes, his smile and his wit. As he grew and blossomed at the school, he developed a huge inclination towards sports, especially cricket and yet he scored fantastically in his exams. Science and Math were his favourite subjects,” says Amita Saxena, principal of the Vishal Public School, where Kohli studied.

His music teacher, Sadhna Sohal recollects Virat as a cute child with chubby cheeks who was fond of humming Bollywood numbers. His Class I teacher Hena Battacharaya recollects that Virat was a bright and determined child right from the beginning. She says, “His eyes were very expressive.” Virat was an active participant in all the school and inter house activities, reminisces his Class VIII teacher Vbha Sachdev.

Virat always scored well in his exams. He was an above average performer and the only time he would lose a few marks was when his practices took his time away. “I prepared for my exam after I came back from my practices.”— this was something the teachers heard frequently from him. He worked very hard to excel in both sports and academics, and his teachers fully understood his struggle and cooperated with him by giving him added guidance.

At a time when academics were given more weightage than sports, his father encouraged the sportsman in him in spite of the fact that Virat was good in academics and could do well in any given field. His classmates remember him as a fun loving boy who would do what he decided to do come hail, snow or storm. When they watch Virat play on the field they are immediately able to connect with that hard working, resolute boy who would prepare for his exams after a day of rigorous cricket practice and who frequently said, “‘Ma’am, I will be the next Sachin Tendulkar of the Indian team.’ We believed him then and we believe him now,” say his principal, teachers and classmates alike.