Virat Kohli to be gifted diamond bat by Surat-based businessman ahead of World Cup 2023

Star India batter Virat Kohli recently completed 15 years in international cricket on August 18, 2023, as wishes poured in for the batting maverick from all across the globe. Notably, Kohli made his international debut on August 18, 2008, in Dambulla against Sri Lanka and has risen in stature in international cricket over the span of 15 years.

To commemorate Kohli’s greatness, a businessman from Surat will reportedly gift him a diamond bat ahead of the ODI World Cup 2023 scheduled to begin in India from October 05. The 15 mm bat made from a 1.04-carat original rough diamond reportedly costs INR 10 Lakh and took a month to be prepared. The businessman has been following Kohli’s career since his formative days and has witnessed his meteoric rise in international cricket.

The bat was made under the supervision of Diamond Technology expert and Director of Lexus Softmac Company in Surat, Utpal Mistry and now has been sent for certification.

“The bat is worth around INR 10 lakhs and the size is 15 mm x 5 mm, so we thought that the skin of a natural diamond which is made by God does not exactly match the screen of a lab-grown diamond. So we had the idea and we kept the skin of a rough diamond till polished. This was a very clear instruction because it was going to be a top Indian cricketer. He wanted to gift a natural diamond and not a lab-grown diamond,” Mistry was quoted as saying by SportsTak.

Virat Kohli will be eager to emulate his Asia Cup 2022 heroics

Meanwhile, Virat Kohli will be expected to play a pivotal role for India in the upcoming Asia Cup 2023 beginning from August 30. The star batter finished as the second-highest run-scorer (276 runs) of the previous edition of the continental cup in 2022 and also brought up his elusive 71^st international hundred during the tournament against Afghanistan. 

The 34-year-old will look to start the 16^th year of his career in grand fashion and help India lift the Asia Cup and then the ODI World Cup.