Mural artist Gurseet Singh brought together thousands of fans of star Indian batter Virat Kohli to create a 20ft-by-20ft mural of Kohli’s face using 5,000 red cricket balls at Mumbai’s Carter Road Amphitheater on Saturday.
The excited fans engaged with mural artist Gurseet in a marathon nine-hour activity that began at 8:00 am. It was befitting that the tribute to the ace cricketer was nothing short of spectacular. But what made the celebration even more special was the presence of Virat Kohli’s childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma’s presence.
“It looks amazing and very creative from team PUMA and I will definitely send it to Virat as well. It fills my heart with great pride to see him getting so much love,” Rajkumar Sharma said.
“Virat Kohli is a modern-day cricket legend and has a special place in the fans’ heart. It was our endeavour to bring them all together and make it a special birthday celebration for one of the most complete batsmen of this era,” added Abhishek Ganguly, Managing Director, PUMA India and Southeast Asia, the organisers of the event.
Several other sports personalities who were present at the event included inspirational 94-year-old sprinter Bhagwani Devi, footballer Glan Martins and Anwar Ali, cricketer Anuj Rawat and swimmer Srihari. Bollywood actor Ishaan Khatter, a Kohli fan had also joined for the day-long celebration.
Tattoo Artists, Hair Stylists and Face Painters will be indulging fans with Kohli-inspired tattoos, haircuts with VK initials, to unique face paint and more at the brand’s stores till November 12, as part of the Virat’s tribute birthday celebration week.
Virat has represented India in 102 Tests and has scored 8,074 runs at an average of 49.53 in 173 innings. He has scored 27 centuries and 28 fifties in the format.
He also has played 262 ODIs for India in which he has scored 12,344 runs at an average of 57.68. 43 tons and 64 fifties have come out of his bat in this format.
Lastly, he has also scored 3,932 for India in 113 T20Is at an average of 53.13. One century in 36 fifties has been scored by Virat in the shortest format.
He is also a part of Team India which won the 50-over Cricket World Cup in 2011 and the Champions Trophy in 2013.
Notably, India will take on Zimbabwe in their final Group stage match in Melbourne on Sunday.
India is currently at the top of the Group 2 points table with six points. They have six points to their name and have won three matches out of four.
Virat is one of the stars of India’s campaign. He is the second-highest run-scorer in the tournament, having scored 220 runs in four matches at an average of 220.00. Three fifties have come out of Kohli’s bat in this tournament. (ANI)
