Know Virat Kohli who loves glamour, parties, but has a past full of sorrows

New Delhi: Many believe Virat Kohli, the perfect cricketer to fit in to Sachin Tendulkar's shoes once he retires later this month, has a reputation that of a cricketer who loves glamour, parties and all kinds of fun in life but he has had a past full of sorrows too. Virat, who has 17 ODI centuries and today one of the most prolific run getter, had struggled a lot in his childhood after he lost his father. Born on November 5,1988 in Delhi, Virat, like any other, used to play with his elder brother Vikas and sister Bhawna, waiting for his father who would bring chocolates for him in the evening. Virat's father Prem Kohli was a lawyer who would spend his time in the court arguing for his clients. After watching Virat's keen interest in cricket, his father put him in West Delhi cricket Academy under the watchful eyes of coach Raj Kumar Sharma and Suresh Batra. According to his coach, “Virat would come to nets early morning and would not leave until dark. We had to send him because he was just a kid. We used to wonder at his commitment at such a tender age.” Virat kept playing and eventually got selected for Delhi Ranji team. Then came the saddest day of his life, when he had just completed 18 years. Delhi was playing against Karnataka at Firozshah Kotla and were in trouble as the danger of follow-on was looming large. Virat was unbeaten at 40 after second day's play.Around 3 am, his mother came rushing in, and told him that his father was unwell and that he needed to be taken to the hospital. But before he could take his father to a hospital, he had died. His father had a brain stroke. He was 18 years and 44 days old when he lost his father that night. When his coach came to know of the tragedy , he thought he won't be able to come but Virat reached Firozshah Kotla and scored 90 to save his team. After saving his team from follow-on, Virat reached home and performed rituals for his father at 3:30 pm. Virat was not even 15 when he made his double century and before he turned 17, scored two double tons in the Vijay Merchant Trophy. watch more images