New Delhi : Indian skipper Virat Kohli and opener Rohit Sharma on Tuesday met 87-year-old cricket fan Charu Lata Patel who became the darling of Twitter after she was seen cheering for the team during their World Cup 2019 clash against Bangladesh.
Taking to social media platform Instagram, the International Cricket Council (ICC) posted a video where both Kohli and Sharma could be seen interacting with Charu Lata Patel who in turn showered them with her blessings for the matches to come. Though inaudible, Patel spoke to both the players for a long time, and ended their conversation by blessing, hugging and kissing them.
In a separate message posted after the team’s win against Bangladesh, Kohli thanked Charu Lata Patel, calling her “one of the most passionate and dedicated fans I’ve ever seen”. Kohli also said that “age is just a number, passion takes you leaps and bounds”.
“Also would like to thank all our fans for all the love and support and especially Charulata Patel ji. She’s 87 and probably one of the most passionate and dedicated fans I’ve ever seen. Age is just a number, passion takes you leaps and bounds. There was only love and blessings for the whole team in her eyes. What an inspiration. With her blessings, on to the next one,” he wrote.
Charu said that she is a big fan of the Indian team and was there in the stadium when India lifted their first World Cup, back in 1983, under Kapil Dev’s captaincy. Patel told news agency ANI that she is a very religious person and stressed that India is going to win the ongoing World Cup.
She revealed that she has been watching the game for decades. “I have been watching cricket for decades. When I was in Africa, I used to watch it, then I came to this country in 1975. Here I had work because of which I did not get time to watch but I used to watch it on TV. But nowadays as I am not working, so I have the interest and I am very lucky that I get a chance to watch cricket,” she said.
She grabbed everyone’s attention when former England player Michael Vaughan shared her picture on his official Instagram, describing the photo as “the picture of this World Cup for him”.
“Love this … No idea how old this lady is but it’s the picture of the World Cup for me … #CWC19,” he wrote.
India are currently ranked at second place on the points table with 13 points and have now booked a place in the semi-final of the showpiece event.
Bureau Report
Leave a Reply