“I never asked for number 18”, Virat Kohli reveals the various reasons how he became close to No.18

There are a few numbers that Indian cricketers are associated with. It is extremely difficult to not think of them whenever this number appears. In fact, some of these cricketers have even opened their personal brands named on these numbers. Some of the famous examples are No.7 for MS Dhoni, No.10 for Sachin Tendulkar and No.18 for Virat Kohli. On that note, here, we take a look as Virat Kohli reveals the reasons why he became close to No.18 in his career and personal life.

Virat Kohli is synonymous with No.18

Virat’s jersey number is No.18. He also has a brand called One8. Recently, there was a marathon held associated with this brand. Close to 1 lakh people gathered in Bengaluru and Virat was also present at the event. Here, he took some time to reveal details about the importance of this number. Here is what he said:

Virat Kohli said "I never asked for number 18, when I got my first U-19 jersey, it was number 18 then when I made my India debut, it was on August 18th, unfortunately my father passed away on 18th, so it wasn't a random number anymore, it stuck with me".

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There are many reasons why a cricketer gets associated so closely with one number. It is very rare and shows why players like MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli value them so much.

An important IPL season for him

Meanwhile, Virat is preparing for IPL 2023. In the last season, the former Indian skipper struggled due to a lack of form. However, since then, he has been in good touch and will be important for RCB’s chances in the upcoming campaign.

Virat is likely to open the batting for RCB in this edition. There are reports that Rajat Patidar is not fit for at least the first half of the tournament. That puts extra pressure on Virat because he would now have to keep in mind the inexperienced middle-order that the team has, especially when it comes to the domestic contingent. Considering the form that he is in, it should not be a big task for Virat as we saw in the 2022 T20 World Cup and also in BGT 2023.