#ViratKohli

Looking back, it was indeed a moment to cherish for us. We had scheduled an interview with cricket coach Raj Kumar Sharma for a leading national daily at Dwarka Sports complex. He was the guru for a number of budding, talented and upcoming young cricket players. Amongst them was a young and upcoming prodigy by the name Virat Kohli! Virat had just led the Indian Under-19 team to a glorious World Cup victory. And he was definitely a superstar in the making. Coach Sharma, asked us to talk to Virat himself and asked his protégé to come and be a part of this interview – and imagine, Virat immediately came to Dwarka all the way from his residence in Paschim Vihar.
Even before Virat arrived, there was a sense of expectancy in the air. And the moment Virat landed up, the budding cricket players and enthusiasts at the Dwarka Sports complex virtually mobbed him. Even as a simple, shy, slightly introverted teenager, there was an aura around him which anyone could feel. He had a confidence and sparkle and a demeanour that he was destined for a great future and a glorious career ahead. The children too had perhaps sensed this and there was a beeline for autographs – on bats, shirts, scraps of paper and even the palms!
Perhaps this was the future superstar’s first public interview! And we felt that he came across as a very confident, focussed and determined young man who always set his standards high and went all out to achieve them.
We can, for sure, compliment ourselves and take some credit in the fact that we were the first to have such an up-close and personal chat with one of the greatest cricketers that India has produced!

Swati Khanwalkar and Vishal Gupta
Radio Dwarka,
India’s First Online Community Radio,