As Virat Kohli retires from Test cricket, Anushka Sharma has paid a unique tribute to her husband. Taking to social media, the Bollywood actress shared an Instagram Story about champions of Test cricket.
“That’s why only those with a story to tell succeed in test cricket. A story so long and deep that it doesn’t care for the pitch conditions – grass, dry, home, or away,” the post says.
Anushka Sharma’s tribute is, in fact, a share from celebrated writer and stand-up comedian Varun Grover. The poet won the National Award as the Best Lyricist for Dum Laga Ke Haisha in 2015.
On May 13, Grover shared a number of pictures of King Kohli in his tribute to the legend.
“You brought the precision of a surgeon and passion of a stage performer to this game “of inches, played in yards”. You will be missed on the grounds,” Grover wrote while quoting Harsha Bhogle.
“Test cricket is special because it is a narrative sport. So many variables – four innings, five days, twenty-two specialists, changing weather (sometimes several times in a day), humidity in the air, the condition of the pitch, luck determined by a coin toss, and constantly evolving mental calculations,” Grover wrote in his post.
“Although every sport reflects some aspect of life, but test cricket is like a literary novel – combining many different genres into one. Virat Kohli is the biggest character of this novel over the last decade. He not only lived the different emotions of the game but also enriched them,” Grover added.
Anushka Sharma’s tribute to Virat Kohli
The Instagram Story is not the only time Anushka Sharma paid her tribute. She earlier wrote a detailed post after Kohli’s announcement.
“They’ll talk about the records and the milestones — but I’ll remember the tears you never showed, the battles no one saw, and the unwavering love you gave this format of the game. I know how much all this took from you. After every Test series, you came back a little wiser, a little humbler — and watching you evolve through it all has been a privilege,” she wrote while sharing a photo of theirs.
“Somehow, I always imagined you’d retire international cricket in whites — But you’ve always followed your heart, and so I just want to say my love, you’ve earned every bit of this goodbye,” Sharma added.