The Indian batting great may have rested from playing duties but made it a point to meet and interact with his passionate fans in Barbados.
Virat Kohli may have skipped the second ODI of the West Indies series on Saturday (July 29), but the Indian superstar remained committed to making his fans happy with a heartening gesture to the crowd gathered on the sidelines.
Of the lot, a little girl could savour perhaps the day of her life when Kohli gleefully made it a point to step across, take pictures and even wear the bracelet the kid gifted him. Present at the ground with her parents, this young girl had Kohli happily receiving the hand-wear she gifted and expressing his gratitude for love and support.
Kohli has always been known for kindly making out time for his waiting fans at cricket grounds all over the globe and made another of his passionate fan’s day by saying “thank you” upon being gifted the bracelet and immediately wearing it.
The incident was shared to the fans by the BCCI on their official Twitter handle and is from after the completion of the penultimate One-Dayer that West Indies won by six wickets. Kohli, who was earlier seen during water-boy duties for his teammates after voluntarily resting out the match, went up to his gathered fans to sign autographs, take selfies and receive gifts from them.
Once the match was over, Virat Kohli could’ve easily opted to leave for the team hotel early. But the modern-day legend made it a point to meet his fans and interact them in person after coming to know they had been waiting for one glimpse of his the whole day.
WATCH: Chahal-Jadeja engage in mock confrontation during India’s ODI against West Indies
Kohli stepped across the boundary cushion and met two little girls and their parents standing behind the stand, one of which gifted him a bracelet which he was happy to receive and said: “thank you”.
Fan gestures like these 🤗
Autographs and selfies ft. #TeamIndia Captain @ImRo45, @imVkohli & @surya_14kumar ✍️
Cricket fans here in Barbados also gifted a bracelet made for Virat Kohli 👌👌#WIvIND pic.twitter.com/Qi551VYfs4
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 30, 2023
Given that there is a strong likelihood of Kohli continuing to rest the ODI series even through the decider scheduled on Tuesday (August 1), fans entering the stadiums may have to wait for such a meet-up after the game in Trinidad is over and be lucky to get the chance to interact with him.
Kohli, aged 34, is also not part of the T20I leg of the series and hasn’t played the shortest format since the last T20 World Cup. There is a chance he could be on his final trip to the Caribbean with India not due to play Tests or ODIs in the West Indies during the next FTP cycle spanning 2024-27.