Call it King Khan’s gift to man(woman) kind but the holistic gesture of both arms spread wide in appreciation, ecstatic joy, boy wonder and also the acceptance of God’s grace for success and of beautiful things in life seems to have also become the hallmark of on-field achievers. We now even have young Yashasvi Jaiswal acing that signature SRK style to perfection after a magnificent ton at the Perth Test which India won so handsomely !
But as one famed anchor would say the ‘Good News’ (love-story) comes from India’s hyper expressive and ebullient batting icon, Virat Kohli which the entire media loves to capture in all its glory. Apart from the ‘arms thrown wide’ move on reaching a landmark score (most recently his Test ton after 2 years !) and on such occasions throws a flying kiss in the direction of the stands whenever his wife is there sitting & rooting for him.
Our Cricketing greats over the years have been a bit reticent of their personal lives and their spouses have stayed out of limelight. But ‘God of Cricket’, Sachin echoed beautiful sentiments (on his last playing day) in Nov,13 in Wankhede when he said – ‘My best ever partnership has been with my wife, Anjali’ – both were then surcharged with emotions justifiably. In the movie on his life, he has spoken at length of his wife’s contributions.
Sri Lankan batting-keeper, the legendary Kumar Sangakkara is an eloquent speaker, but during his retirement speech, forgot to thank his wife (as many often do !) but soon realized his mistake and made up by kissing her on stage to delight of all the fans there.
Cricketers and famous sports persons generally don’t forget to thank coaches, mentors and families for support when they win big games and certainly when they finally retire. However, may be out of inhibitions, only few single out the spouses for special mention.
Virat it seems is more effusive, not only in his classical batting approach but in that he expresses heartfelt feelings of gratitude for his better half. It’s widely reported that after smashing what’s his phenomenal 81st international century on Sunday, Virat mentioned to Adam Gilchrist it was special since wife Anushka Sharma was present and thanked her for unwavering support. Praising her as his pillar of strength, he has spoken how she understands him and how he has to cope with the highs & lows of his career & status !
In a fiercely competitive state (both in-house and outside world), ‘Virushka’ pair & their devotion is akin to a breath of fresh air over New Delhi. Like Virat’s classy batting it’s so tough to emulate but worth trying. Post his retirement (when it happens) he can ably counsel on ‘Ways to Marital Bliss’, while many ‘Senior Citizens’ are still figuring it out !
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