Virat Kohli doesn’t keep Player of the Match awards; sends them to his mom in Gurgaon: ‘She likes it’

Virat Kohli looked imperious through his innings in Vadodara, and continues to be India's go-to man in ODI cricket.

Over the course of his long, stories, and immensely successful career, Virat Kohli has always been a match-winner. With innings after innings that have taken his teams home from all sorts of situations, Kohli’s silverware cabinet might be overflowing with the number – but for him, these awards mean just a little bit more.

Virat Kohli raises his bat during his 93 against New Zealand in Vadodara. (PTI)

After his 93 helped India chase down 301 against New Zealand in the first international match of the year for Team India, Kohli was once again at the heart of India’s success. Although he fell narrowly short of another career international century, he was still honoured – and went on to reveal that all these personal trophies do have a little bit of meaning.

Speaking at the presentation after India took a 1-0 lead, Kohli revealed that he sends off his player of the match and other individual honours to his mother’s house in Gurgaon. While Kohli is the ultimate team player and has a solid number of team trophies, these personal ones hold significance and personal value as a marker of the ‘journey’ the star batter has undertaken.

‘I send it to my mum…’

“I send it to my mum in Gurgaon, she likes to keep them. If I look back at my whole journey then it is nothing short of a dream come true for me,” said Kohli. “I have always known my abilities, I have worked a lot for where I am today, God has blessed me with way too much and I have a lot of gratitude in my heart, I feel proud.”

Kohli is certainly the pre-eminent sports hero of this generation in India, thanks to his captaincy exploits and his batting ability. While Kohli has stepped away from the T20 and Test formats on the international level, he continues to be India’s best batter in ODI cricket – historically his best format, and one in which he hasn’t lost even half a step.

Kohli has shown determination and extreme ability even at the age of 37 in this format, continuing to pile on the runs and the centuries. He will be looking for more of those, and more silverware to send home to his mother, as India continue the ongoing series against New Zealand.