Explained – the story behind the viral photo of Ashish Nehra, 24, giving prize to Virat Kohli, 15

March 28, 2016, NewsCrunch

An old photo of Ashish Nehra giving a prize to young Virat Kohli has gone viral.

The photo, which has been floating around for the last few years, came to spotlight  after Virat Kohli, and to a smaller extent Ashish Nehra, played a key role in India’s spectacular victory against Australia on Sunday.

In an old interview with MintAshish Nehra said he vividly recalled giving a prize to Virat Kohli.

The photo was taken in 2003, after the world cup, in which Ashish Nehra, who was then 24, had played.  

Virat Kohli’s coach Raj Kumar Sharma had invited him to his academy and the photo was taken during the visit, says Ashish Nehra.

So, why is Virat Kohli, who was 15, getting the prize.  

Virat Kohli came to limelight in 2002–03 Polly Umrigar Trophy, playing for Delhi. He was the leading run-getter for his team in that tournament with 172 runs at an average of 34.40.

The next year he did even better, becoming the captain of the team and scoring 390 runs in 5 innings at an average of 78.  

That was what possibly got him an prize from a cricketer playing for India.