'He went to his room, started crying' - Pradeep Sangwan recalls how Virat Kohli got pranked

Virat Kohli has been enduring an uncharacteristic lean run of form in recent times. The right-hander has not registered a century in any format since November 2019. However, this isn’t the only time he has endured a tough time with the bat. Kohli’s former Delhi teammate Pradeep Sangwan recently recalled a funny incident involving the talismanic cricketer in their teenage years.

The former Indian skipper has been one of the most celebrated cricketers over the last decade. The elegant batter made his debut for the national side in 2008 and has amassed over 23,000 International runs with 70 centuries across all three formats. Considered as one of the most prominent sporting figures in the world, Kohli was pivotal in India’s 2011 World Cup and 2013 Champions Trophy triumphs.

Gujarat Titans’ Pradeep Sangwan, who made his first appearance in IPL since 2018 in this year’s edition, has revealed a funny story involving a young Virat Kohli. The incident took place when Kohli and Sangwan were teammates for the Delhi U-17 side and one of the coaches planned a prank on the young batter.

“We were playing in a U17 match in Punjab. He (Kohli) hadn’t been scoring big in the past 2-3 innings. We had a coach named Ajit Chaudhary who used to call him ‘Cheeku’. Virat was the main player of our team, and Ajit sir funnily suggested, ‘let’s tell him he will not play in the next match. We all joined in on the prank,” Sangwan revealed in an interview with News24.

“In the team meeting, sir didn’t announce Virat’s name. He went to his room and started crying! He phone-called sir and said I’ve scored a 200 and a 250.. he had scored big in that season, to be honest. It’s just that he didn’t get enough runs in the past 2 to 3 innings. He got so emotional he even phone-called Rajkumar sir (Virat’s childhood coach),” he added.

What’s the point of sleeping when I’m not playing? – an emotional Kohli asked Sangwan

After being told about his axing in the next match, a distraught young Virat approached the Delhi pacer and asked him about his shortcomings. Sangwan, who was in on the whole thing, spilled the beans to his Delhi teammate as he did not sleep the entire night because of the prank.

“Then, he came to me and asked, ‘Tell me Sangwan, what’s wrong? I scored so many runs this season. I told him, ‘Yes yes, that’s very wrong!’. He wasn’t able to sleep all night as well. He said, “No, I don’t want to sleep. What’s the point of sleeping when I’m not playing?’ Then, I told him that he was playing. It was all a prank!” said Sangwan.

The former Indian skipper’s passion and commitment to the game are world-renowned, and this incident further illustrates his competitive nature on the pitch.