India batter Virat Kohli is celebrating his 35th birthday on Sunday during India’s ODI World Cup 2023 encounter against South Africa.
Kolkata: The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) will be presenting Virat Kohli with a ‘Golden Bat’ specially customised for the former India captain on the auspicious occasion of his 35th birthday on Sunday during India vs South Africa encounter at the Eden Gardens in the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023. It is to
India are coming into this game on the back of an unbeaten seven-match winning streak. Earlier, the CAB had planned a huge celebration for the star batter which included distributing 70,000 masks of Kohli among the spectators and a fireworks show.
However, the required permissions were not granted by the BCCI and ICC as that would fall under a conflict of interest for the BCCI, creating marketing issues with the official World Cup broadcasters. In response, CAB had an alternative plan in place and decided to present Kohli with the golden bat. Meanwhile, the customary Eden Gardens laser show will be on display.
In another development, Indian head coach Rahul Dravid will be ringing the Eden Gardens bell before the start of the match. Dravid, along with India batting coach Vikram Rathour and his support staff had also paid a visit to see the Eden Gardens strip after the team landed in Kolkata on Friday.
On the eve of the match, former India captain and former CAB, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly too visited the Eden Gardens and was seen having a conversation with Dravid.