Think Sourav Ganguly and, arguably, the first image that comes to your mind is of the former Indian cricket team skipper standing bare-chested on the balcony of Lord's and waving his jersey over his head after Team India clinched a thriller against England in the 2002 NatWest Series final.
A lot has been said and written about Dada's iconic gesture at the Mecca of cricket, but if current Team India skipper Virat Kohli has his way in the World Cup next year in England and Wales, cricket fans will get to see an encore.
In an interview last year, Ganguly had said that if Kohli wins the World Cup in 2019, “he will roam around Oxford Street with his shirt off”. The two flamboyant players came together today at the unveiling of journalist Boria Majumdar's book Eleven Gods and a Billion Indians in Kolkata.
Ganguly repeated what he had said in the interview, and added that “we better get our cameras ready... Kohli has six packs”. A sport that he is, Kohli responded by saying that he would do it and said he would certainly be joined by Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah, the other 'six packs' in the team.
When asked about the unbelievable win in 2002, Kohli, who was a 13-year-old then, said he went to sleep after India were reduced to 146/5. His brother later woke him up when India were on the verge on winning, thanks to Yuvraj Singh (69) and Mohammed Kaif (87*). Ganguly, too, played his part, scoring a 43-ball 60.
India chased down the 325-run target with three balls to spare and two wickets remaining.
Speaking about Ganguly's shirtless celebration, Kohli said, “When I saw that moment happen... I think it is very difficult for people to understand but those things are so organic, so pure that you just go with with without worrying about judgement or what are people are going to say about you."
"It was in the Lord's balcony but it could have been anywhere in the world. That was just the pure happiness coming through after you have achieved something against the odds," he said.
"This is the way I want to express myself and I never felt there is anything wrong with that because that was pure human emotion coming through."
Kohli, who is often hailed for a similarly aggressive approach towards the game as Ganguly, said a player cannot always act thinking about the people's judgement or reactions but needs to be himself and enjoy when such iconic moments arrive.
"You cannot be a robot operating for the sake of what people are going to write or say about you. You have to honest towards the game and you have to be yourself," he said.
(With IANS inputs)