Asia Cup: Ahead of Pak clash, Virat Kohli gets special 'silver bat' from Lankan fan
Sep 09, 2023
By Vipul Kashyap
Colombo [Sri Lanka], September 9 : In a sweet gesture ahead of the high-octane clash against Pakistan on Sunday, a local Sri Lankan cricketer on Saturday gifted India's batting talisman Virat Kohli a silver bat "engraved with every century that he has scored".
India will play their first Super Four stage match of the Asia Cup 2023 against Pakistan in Colombo on Sunday.
Chandramohan Krishanth, a Lankan net bowler helping the Indians gear up for Sunday's blockbuster clash, expressed his delight after meeting the former India captain, saying that he first met the "Chasemaster" in 2017.
He said being a die-hard fan of Kohli, he customized a special bat for the former India captain, which has all his 76 international centuries engraved on it. 
"I am a big fan of Virat Kohli. The last time I met him was in 2017 during net practice. This is my small gift to him. This bat contains every century that he has scored to date. It took me three months to carve this bat," Krishanth told ANI.
Earlier, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) shared a video of Kohli chatting with local cricketers on its X (formerly Twitter) handle.
During India's practice session in Colombo, Kohli took time out to interact with some budding cricketers and shared his experience with them.
"Start your weekend with an inspiring interaction Virat Kohli shares his experience with budding cricketers," BCCI wrote in its post.
In the video, a budding cricketer shared the conversation he had with the Indian batter.
“I asked him, how can I make it to that level. The things that he said were to be professional, believe in yourself, at the end of the day, the work you put in and practice where you get the result. Just watching him the way he gets ready and runs in practice. I learnt a lot just by watching him," he added.
