Virat Kohli’s birthday couldn’t have come at a better time for the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB). With India practically assured of a place in the semi-finals of the World Cup and playing some of the best cricket they have in recent times, the India-South Africa match at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on November 5, Kohli’s birthday, promises to be a blockbuster. And to mark the occasion, Snehasish Ganguly, the CAB president, has made some interesting plans.
Speaking to RevSportz, Ganguly revealed some of his ideas. “We have ordered a cake for Virat, and the design will be something everyone identifies with Virat Kohli,” he said. “I am not sharing the pictures yet, for let that be a surprise. Also, we plan to host a fireworks show during the mid-innings interval for Virat and the crowd. It will be our way of celebrating his birthday, and our way of saying that the entire Kolkata crowd are part of the celebrations. We are sure of a full house and everyone in the stands is a Virat fan. It is a gesture on behalf of all of them.”
The CAB has also planned to gift Kohli something special, which could become known over the next couple of days. There are also plans for 70,000 Kohli masks to be distributed to the spectators, and for a laser show. In all, the birthday celebration will add to the occasion of the India-South Africa game, which could well decide who tops the table in the World Cup group stage.
The CAB will also be confident that they won’t be left red-faced as they were a decade ago when a plan to shower the ground with rose petals from an aircraft had to be abandoned after a three-day finish in Sachin Tendulkar’s penultimate Test match.
In 2022, Kohli had celebrated his birthday with the media at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, before playing Zimbabwe the next day in the T20 World Cup. Interestingly, India were on top of the charts then, and it is the same story now. Only, India lost to England in the semi-finals of that tournament, and Kohli will want to put the record straight and give his fans the best return gift this time round.