A day in jail and a ban on entering the Eden Gardens this Indian Premier League season. 18-year-old Rituparno Pakhira had to pay the price for breaching the security to meet his idol Virat Kohli. However, Pakhira does not regret his actions as he got the chance to dive at Kohli’s feet and also got a hug from the batting maestro. For the unversed, Pakhira breached security protocols to see Kohli from close, climbing a wired fence during Saturday’s IPL 2025 opener between Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
Pakhira has now revealed what Kohli said to him after he hugged him.
“The moment I touched his feet, Virat Kohli sir picked me up, asked my name and said jaldi se bhaag ja (run away fast). Kolhi sir even asked the security personnel coming to catch me to not hit me and asked them to escort me out of the ground gently,” Rituparno was quoted as saying by the Times of India.
However, Pakhira suggested that he doesn’t have any regrets over his actions as he was wiling to pay any price to meet Kohli.
“I had planned to enter the ground at any cost and prepared myself. I do not have any regrets. I am very happy that I was successful and that Icould touch my god,” he added.
Moments after Kohli reached his half-century, Pakhira jumped over the guardrails and ran towards him. Kohli was visibly surprised as the fan grabbed his legs and fell on the ground.
Recently, former India captain MS Dhoni shared the essence of his relationship with Kohli, even explaining why he wouldn’t reveal the text he had sent the batting maestro when he stepped down as India’s Test captain.
“He would come and discuss situations, analyzing what he could have done differently. For example, in a run chase, if he got out at a crucial moment, he would talk about whether he could have delayed taking a risk by an over or handled the situation differently. We had many conversations, and that helped both of us. It was always an honest exchange of ideas–whether a certain approach was right or if an adjustment could have been made. Initially, it was more of a relationship between a captain and a young player, but over time, as we kept interacting, we became friends. Even today, we share that bond, though there’s always a line of respect between a senior and a junior. Now that neither of us is captain, we get more time to talk before matches. Earlier, before the toss, we had to prepare and go, but now we can just stand and have a chat.” MS Dhoni said while speaking on Jio Hostar.
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