Virat Kohli has been rested from cricket during Nidahas Trophy 2018. (Source: BCCI)
India captain Virat Kohli has garnered a massive fan following over the years, in India and all over the world. The 29-year old, who was named as the ICC Cricketer of the Year 2017, has 21 centuries in Test cricket and 35 hundreds in the 50-over format. The right-hand batsman, who is currently taking a break from cricket during the ongoing T20I tri-series against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, can hardly stay away from limelight even when he is not on the field.
The students appearing for their Class X English state board exam in West Bengal on Tuesday were in for a pleasant surprise when they found an essay question on Indian cricket team captain Kohli, the Hindustan Times reported. According to the report, the students were delighted to answer the question on the cricketer who has become a “national icon”.
Shamim Akhtar, a student of Nabipur Saralabala High School in Murshidabad told the newspaper that she was glad to answer a question on her “idol”. “We wrote the answer with delight as we never expected a question like this. He is my idol,” she was quoted as saying.
Another student Shreyas Ghosal, a student of Midnapore Mission Girls School in West Midnapore district, explained the question. “It was a compulsory question (of 10 marks). We had to write a short profile based on the points mentioned in the question paper. But Kohli is so popular that even if points were not given, many could have written pages,” she said.
Biography of virat kohli in matric exam in WBBSE BOARD pic.twitter.com/bBnTUv19a0
— NITISH MAHATO (@NITISHMATHARI) 14 March 2018
An examinee at Kolkata’s Balarampur Girls High School, Isha Shaw also spoke to the newspaper and said that she was “delighted” to write a profile on someone of Kohli’s stature. “It always feels good to write about a player of Kohli’s stature. He is an icon and I was delighted to write his profile,” she said.
Over 1.1 million students appeared to give the paper, as per the report. The report cited remarks from TMC legislator Laxmi Ratan Shukla who appreciated the initiative of asking a question on Kohli. “Besides being an icon, Kohli’s life is about dedication, hard work, and discipline, which can be an example for students. I appreciate the gesture and I hope in future there will be questions on sporting icons not only in Madhyamik but other board examinations as well,” she said.
Kohli will return to cricket in the upcoming season of Indian Premier League in April and he will continue to play for Royal Challengers Bangalore this season.