“He stopped that guy and told him, ‘bhaiyya aage tak chhod do’” - Virat Kohli’s friend narrates funny tale about cricketer’s naughty side

Virat Kohli’s childhood friend Shall Sondhi has narrated an interesting story about the cricketer’s naughty side from his younger days. Sondhi revealed that Kohli used to ‘cheat’ during cross-country races and come first to impress his coach Rajkumar Sharma.

Kohli trained under coach Sharma in Delhi before going on to become a superstar in international cricket. The 34-year-old is currently representing Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023.

On Friday, May 5, RCB’s official YouTube channel took a walk down memory lane into Kohli’s childhood. In the video, Sondhi recalled the racing incident. Beginning the story, coach Sharma said:

“Every Sunday, we used to have cross country. I used to make them run from Paschim Vihar, it was about 5-6 kms. He was so naughty. I used to follow them without telling them.”

Continuing the tale, Sondhi added:

“So there was a cycle, a type that a milkman would use. He stopped that guy and told him, ‘bhaiyya aage tak chhod do’. [Asking for a lift]. He was way behind, so he would sit on the seat and go ahead of the first person and then start running. By then sir would come and see Virat in front and would say, ‘that’s nice’. I was like wow. What is happening? This is wrong bro.”

Sondhi added that Kohli was a great foodie as well. Reliving their childhood memories, he opened up about the type of food they enjoyed. Sondhi recalled:

“After every session every day, we had to have momos, chowmein, burgers. Right outside the ground where we used to practice was Chuk-Chuk Mail - a Chinese van. Virat and I would place a bet on who’ll eat how much. Rama’s Chole Bhature, everyone knows, it became so famous. Great emotions attached to that childhood.”

In the ongoing IPL, Kohli has scored 364 runs in nine matches at a strike rate of 137.88, with five half-centuries.

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“I realized he is the next version of Indian cricket team” - Virat Kohli’s friend

While the former India captain always seemed destined for greatness, Kohli’s childhood friend was among the earlier ones to see the spark.

Narrating a story from a state match in Pune, he said:

“He was batting on 190. He wanted to complete 200, but wickets were falling at the other end. When my turn came to bat, Virat said, ‘you just have to stand, I’ll deliver’. I just knocked it here and there and Virat completed his 250 runs.

“At that point of time, I realized he is the next version of Indian cricket team. He is a great batsman.”

Kohli has amassed over 25000 runs in international cricket at an average of 53.53, with 75 centuries.