An open letter to Virat Kohli as he enters the wedlock

Dear Virat Kohli,

On any random day of the year, I can be found gushing over you; reciting your records from memory, crossing all my fingers and toes till you reach that century, brimming with pride at your achievements, arguing with haters vociferously, getting people in my vicinity exasperated with my continuous gibberish. But when I sit down to pen this letter to you, I can’t seem to find my words. Maybe I can indulge you in a little story, instead.

It was back in 2011 that I first came across you on the television screen. I watched intently as this slightly chubby, young lad named Virat Kohli, walked onto the field, donned in the revered blue jersey, representing his nation in the World Cup.

You’d made a name for yourself already by captaining the country to the zenith in the U19 World Cup eight years ago, back when you claimed your favourite player was Herschelle Gibbs! The world and I watched in awe as you exuded this amazing aura of passion and exuberance even at such a young age. And the more I watched, the more I fell in love with you.

There you were, still learning how to play the game and there I was, still learning how to comprehend it. As the years passed, you gradually became the centre of the galaxy of my existence. I became an ardent onlooker of your life, your game, the crests and troughs of your being. Your achievements and milestones became common knowledge to the world and my idiosyncrasies about you became common knowledge to the people who had me as their acquaintance.

With this came a flurry of banter and jibes: “Whatever you do, he’s not going to marry you, you know!”, “Why are you so obsessed over a man who doesn’t even know you exist?”, “Will you cry when he gets married?” and a zillion permutations of the same sort. Every time you dated someone, it was I who was badgered left, right and centre about how I’d react if the two of you got married.

Six years have passed since then. It’s 2017 and you just got married to the beautiful Anushka Sharma. While I’ve been at the receiving end of condolences ever since the rumours of your marriage started doing the rounds, I’ll let you on to a little secret of my own: I’m so, so happy for you, my hero. I know you don’t have an iota of a clue that I exist on this planet, but that doesn’t dilute my undying love for you.

You see, I never fell in love with you because I expected to end up with you. I might be crazy about you, but I’m not crazy enough to ever consider the possibility of you marrying me. For crying out loud, I may not even be able to ever meet you in person, for all I know!

I didn’t start admiring and adoring you for merely how good-looking you are or how on-point your beard-game is. I’ve loved you for years now for the human being you are. For your spirit, passion, humility, grit and determination, your unwavering dedication towards your game, the way you refuse to back down in the face of hell, the way you fight till the last moment, the way you extract victories from the worst of situations, the way you mentor the youngsters with faith and affection, the way you’re gracious in accepting the truckloads of accolades that come your way, the way you’re intent on giving back to the society and the game, itself.

Virat Kohli, what you’re in your sport is what I want to become in the field I love, whatever it might be – dedicated and passionate. You’re the idol that makes me want to better myself, you’re the man I look up to and derive inspiration from. That you’re jaw-droppingly handsome, is an added bonus, albeit!

So, at a time when the person I hold so dear in my life is finally hitched to the woman he loves, why on earth should it sadden me? The man I adulate is happy and has finally found the woman who makes him happy. If that makes me anything, it’s proud and elated. Proud that he’s been so upfront and staunch in his love for Anushka in all his interviews since Day 1, his words soaked in awe and praise of his ladylove. Elated because he’s chosen to stay true to his feelings and laid it bare for the world to see by getting married to her.

You held her hand when she was ridiculously blamed for your poor form, you stood up for her every single time, making my love and admiration for you grow only stronger.

As for my love for you, Virat, that is something immortal. It’s not flimsy enough to be dissolved by the fact that you’re a married man. Because what I have for you is a constantly brewing concoction of star-struck hero-worship, unconditional love and rock-solid support. It’s not subject to terms and conditions.

I supported you when you edged the ball to the slips as if stuck on replay in England, 2014 and I supported you when you hit those four exquisite double-centuries in 2016. I stood beside you when you hit centuries in consecutive innings against Australia at Adelaide and I held my ground when you got embroiled in the coach-captain debacle. You’ve been my heartthrob and you’ll always be that, no matter what happens.

So for all the people out there, I don’t need your sympathies. No, I’m not going to cry my eyes out because Virat’s taken. Instead, I’ll be happy in a bittersweet way. Virat Kohli, you were, are and will be my hero till the end of time. I’ll keep supporting you and cheering for you and celebrating your milestones with the same zeal, if not more. May your married life bring you two all the happiness in the entire universe. As for me, you can be sure of one thing: I was, is and will forever be irrevocably and unconditionally in love with you.

Love,

An ardent fangirl.

P.S: Did I mention how cute you two look together in the wedding picture you tweeted? Stay blessed, always.