New Delhi: Actress Anushka Sharma Sunday wrote a supportive post dedicated to her husband Virat Kohli on social media, a day after he announced his resignation as captain of the Indian men’s test cricket team amid an outpouring of support from public figures and fans.
In a detailed post on Instagram, Sharma lauded Kohli for his “growth” over the years, reminiscing about a day in late 2014 when Kohli had privately informed her of his appointment as captain, following Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s resignation and retirement 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,” she wrote.
In his resignation statement Saturday, following India’s 2-1 test series loss to South Africa, Kohli had thanked the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for giving him the opportunity to captain the team, and named former head coach Ravi Shastri and former teammate MS Dhoni as major supportive figures during his tenure.
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) January 15, 2022
In her post, Sharma wrote that while she was proud of her husband’s achievements as captain and the results the team achieved under his leadership, she was more impressed by his personal growth.
“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,” she added.
Sharma credited Kohli for putting immense energy and effort into every match, regardless of the final result, for transparency throughout his seven-year tenure, and for always “standing up for doing the right thing”.
“Pretence is your foe and this is what makes you great in my eyes and 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,” she wrote.
The actress ended her statement of support by saying that Kohli “did good” and their daughter Vamika would see what he learnt in the last seven years in his role as a father.
The actress received much praise on social media for her post from public figures like actress Swara Bhasker, tech journalist Abhishek Baxi, as well as cricket fans from around the country.
These two! ❤️?✨@AnushkaSharma @imVkohli pic.twitter.com/8w0x06M5rH
— Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) January 16, 2022
Anushka Sharma's post on Virat Kohli stepping down as captain, but more importantly the journey, is lovely! pic.twitter.com/s0bf5xKXCt
— Abhishek Baxi (@baxiabhishek) January 16, 2022
Anushka Sharma's note for Virat Kohli ? pic.twitter.com/7WzijKcSzY
— tanya // #farewellpurane (@th3r2pyy) January 16, 2022
Many blame anushka unnecessarily for virat's failures but in reality she provides one of the biggest support to virat. What a beautiful post ❤️
— A (@_shortarmjab_) January 16, 2022
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
Also Read: It was never about statistics for Virat Kohli. The cricket ground was a theatre of passion