Virat Kohli set to attend Ram Temple consecration ceremony after BCCI nod: Report

Indian cricket icon Virat Kohli and his wife, Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma, have been invited to the Ram Mandir ‘Pran Pratistha’ ceremony in Ayodhya on 22 January. Kohli was the latest Indian cricketer to be invited to the grand consecration ceremony. It is now being learnt that Kohli has been granted permission by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to take a day off from the training camp for the Test series against England.

A report published by Cricbuzz claimed that Kohli obtained permission from the BCCI to take part in the Ram Temple consecration ceremony in Ayodhya.

The report went on to claim that the Indian team had been told to meet in Hyderabad, the venue of the first Test against England, on January 20. The five-match Test series between India and England is scheduled to start from January 25.

Earlier, former India players like MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar were also invited for the ‘Pran Pratistha’ ceremony. Dhananjay Singh, a senior member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, was present at Dhoni’s residence in Ranchi to hand over the invitation to the legendary India skipper. The BJP organising secretary Karmaveer Singh was also present there. “We handed over the invitation card to him (Dhoni) on behalf of the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust for the Pran Pratishtha ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on January 22,” Singh told news agency PTI on Monday.

“As many as 16 distinguished personalities including senior BJP leader and Padma Bhusan Karia Munda, Padma Shri Mukund Nayak, Padma Shri archer Deepika Kumari, AJSU Party chief Sudesh Mahto have been invited for the consecration ceremony in Ayodhya,” he added.

Quick Reads

View All

'Won't require surgery...': Real reason behind Jasprit Bumrah's absence from 5th Test revealed in new report

PCB bans players from WCL over India-Pakistan match controversy

Meanwhile, Kohli is currently taking part in the T20I series against Afghanistan. The 35-year-old made a return to this format during the bilateral series against the Afghanistan cricket team but did not take part in the opening fixture. Kohli was part of Team India’s playing 11 in the penultimate game and scored 29 runs off 16 balls in that match. India had gone on to win the second T20I by six wickets.

Rohit Sharma’s men lead the three-match T20I series 2-0 and will be aiming for a whitewash tonight in Bengaluru. The hosts kicked off the series with a convincing six-wicket victory against Afghanistan in the T20I series opener.