When Virat Kohli was left ‘blank’ and devoid of ‘emotion’ after his father’s demise

Virat Kohli’s greatness in international cricket is known to all. But there’s a dark side to his personal life, maybe owing to which he has developed himself into a rock-solid character. It was in December 19, when Kohli was playing a four-day match against Karnataka that his father, Prem Kohli, passed away in the middle of the night. He was rushed to the hospital, but he couldn’t survive.

The horrific incident gives Virat shivers even after 13 years. The Indian captain was a teenager back then and he went down the memory lane to talk about the developments of that cursed night. The now 30-year-old stated that even as his family broke down in tears, he was left blank and he didn’t feel any emotion in him either. Virat was left clueless and absolutely shell-shocked.

I could not register what had happened, remembers Virat Kohli

“I was playing a four-day game at the time and was supposed to resume batting the next day when this (father passed) happened at 2:30 odd in the morning. We all woke up but had no idea what to do. I literally saw him breathe his last. We drove him to the hospital where unfortunately they could not help revive him.

My family broke down but I could not cry and there was no emotion. I could not register what had happened and I was blank,” Kohli was quoted as saying in an interview with Graham Bensinger, an American sports reporter. However, Virat showed guts and wanted to resume playing cricket the next day despite the massive occurring. Quite naturally, he was consoled by his teammates and that made him break down.

“I called my coach in the morning and told him what had happened and that I wanted to play because leaving a cricket match was not acceptable to me no matter what. While my teammates were consoling me in the dressing room I got overwhelmed by the emotion and broke down,” the Delhi-born batsman added.

Kohli was clear in saying that the incident was the most impactful in his life and it made him more determined to represent the national team. His father wanted to see him don the national colours and it was in 2008 when he went to make his debut for India in Sri Lanka. After 11 years following his debut, he is one of the most dynamic batsmen in world cricket, scoring 68 tons and 97 fifties.

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