New Delhi: Hours after Virat Kohli stepped down as India Test captain, his wife Anushka Sharma on Sunday penned a heartfelt note.
In a long post on Instagram, the Bollywood actress recalled the day in 2014 when Kohli was handed over captaincy from MS Dhoni. Sharma went onto add that "Our daughter will see the learning of these 7 years in the father that you are to her".
"I remember the day in 2014 when you told me that you have been made the captain as MS had decided to retire from test cricket."
"I remember MS, you & I having a chat later that day & him joking about how quickly your beard will start turning grey. We all had a good laugh about it. Since that day, I’ve seen more than just your beard turning grey."
"I’ve seen growth. Immense growth. Around you & within you. And yes, I am very proud of your growth as the captain of the Indian National Cricket team & what achievements the team had under your leadership. But I’m more proud of the growth you achieved within you."
"In 2014 we were so young & naive. Thinking that just good intentions, positive drive & motives can take you ahead in life. They definitely do but, not without challenges. A lot of these challenges that you faced were not always on the field. But then, this is life right? It tests you in places where you least expect it to but where you need it the most."
"And my love, I am so proud of you for not letting anything come in the way of your good intentions. You led by example & gave winning on field every ounce of your energy to the extent that after some losses I’ve sat next to you with tears in your eyes, while you wondered if there's still something more you could have done. This is who you are & this is what you expected from everyone. You've been unconventional & straightforward."
"Pretence is your foe & this is what makes you great in my eyes & the eyes of your admirers. Because underneath all this were your pure, unadulterated intentions always. And not everyone will be able to truly understand that. Like I’ve said, truly blessed are those who tried to get to know you beneath what meets the eye."
"You are not perfect & have your flaws but then again when did you ever try to conceal that? What you did was to always stand up for doing the right thing, the harder thing, always! You held on to nothing with greed, not even this position & I know that. Because when one holds on to something so tightly they limit themselves & you, my love, are limitless."
"You did good," she signed off.
Kohli shocked the cricketing world with his decision to step down as the India Test captain with immediate effect on Saturday.
The 33-year-old took the reins as Test captain for the first time against Australia in December 2014 as MS Dhoni was not part of the team due to an injury. Kohli scored 115 in India's first innings, becoming the fourth Indian to score a century on Test captaincy debut.
His last game as skipper was the third and series-deciding Test against South Africa in Cape Town, which India lost by seven wickets on January 14.
In September 2021, Kohli had announced that he would give up T20 leadership following the T20 World Cup 2021. After the showpiece event, where India were eliminated in the group stage, the BCCI removed Kohli as ODI captain and appointed Rohit Sharma as the new white-ball skipper.
BCCI President Sourav Ganguly had reasoned that Kohli's decision to quit T20 captaincy led the board to remove him as ODI skipper.
Kohli said that he was only told 90 minutes before the official announcement that he had been sacked as India's One-Day captain. The chief selector Chetan Sharma contradicted Kohli's claims which sparked a controversy. (UNI)
