9 tattoos that signify everything that’s important to Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli has changed a lot of things in Indian cricket. He likes to do things his way, doesn’t go by what is said and believed. Thus far in his professional career, Kohli has walked on his own trail. It took him some time and a lot of efforts to get here but today he is the best batsman in the world and every expert has at some point admitted it. Not just that, he is also the first tattooed captain of the Indian cricket team. The Indian skipper has got as many as nine tattoos inked on his body thus far. These tattoos are not just his fashion statement or to add to his appeal, but each one of it has a specific meaning to him and marks an important event in his life. He was considered a brash Delhi lad to start off with and today is among the most followed and loved sportsmen around the world. His tattoos symbolize the butterfly effect and he got each of it inked at a significant time in his life. The butterfly effect in psychology is explained with the chaos theory; it is the small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system that potentially can have an impact on large things. It is about his psychology more than anything – relentless obsession with perfection, in search of clarity. Those moments that greatly affected his brain chemistry. He used the tattoos to wire new beliefs in his system which has helped him with his obsession to be the greatest that ever was. Here is the story behind each of Virat Kohli’s nine tattoos 1. Prem and Saroj – his parents’ names A tattoo of his mother Saroj Kohli. (Photo Source: Hotstar) Virat’s love and faith in his parents know no bounds. On multiple occasions, we have seen him attribute all his success to his father as well as his mother. In fact, it was Virat’s father Prem Kohli who introduced him to cricket when he was three years old. He supported him through the thick and thin in laying the foundation in the little child’s brain. Mr Prem then got his son into a professional cricket coaching academy when he was just 9 years old. Virat said that he wanted to keep his parents with him till he is alive and thus got their names tattooed on his arm. A tattoo of his father Prem Kohli. (Photo Source: Hotstar) “Purely because the connection that I have felt with them is something that is unexplained. It is a feeling, it’s not even something that can be put into words. Hence I wanted to make it a part of me until I’m alive,” Virat explained the reason he got this tattoo while talking on NatGeo’s series Mega Icons. 2. Lord Shiva meditating (Photo Source: Hotstar) Lord Shiva is the symbol of creation and destruction – in Hindu mythology, he is knowns as the creator as well as the destroyer. This is the tattoo that Virat got inked after his father’s demise. The youngster channelled all his grief after the incident into a passion and a deep desire to excel in the sport and deliver his best every time he is on the field. In fact, Virat’s father passed away at around 3 AM in the morning and he went out to bat for Delhi in a Ranji game on the same morning. After he got out that day, he called his coach and cried out hard – not because he lost his father but because he thought that he fell victim to a wrong umpiring decision. He was very focused on realising his own and his father’s dream after this sad incident. This was a turning point in his life and is represented by the Lord Shiva tattoo. It signifies: By playing the game he loved, he destroyed his grief and created his own aggressive identity. As the 29-year-old mentioned, he left all his distractions and other avocations behind to achieve his dreams and this incident played a huge role in it. 3. 175 and 269 (Photo Source: Hotstar) These are two of the most important numbers in Virat Kohli’s life. These do not represent any records from his illustrious career. 175 and 269 are his ODI and Test cap numbers respectively and he takes great pride sporting them on his hand. Virat made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka in 2008 while he played his first Test against Windies three years later. (Photo Source: Hotstar) “These numbers will always remain with me because when you look back at the charts 200 years from now, in front of these numbers, there will be my name. These will always be special numbers and hence I decided to get them,” Kohli explained. 4. Tribal Art (Photo Source: Hotstar) This was the first tattoo that Virat Kohli got inked on his body. Honestly, he admitted that he did not have a fair idea of what he was doing at that time. He was a teenager then and thought that it would look ‘cool’. But, it holds a great significance as it keeps him grounded as it constantly reminds him of where he started and how far he has come now. “To be very honest, when I was young it was about being a little cool when I started to get inked but slowly I realized that this is something that gives me a sense of my own identity. And from getting a random tribal design, to getting Shiva on my forearm now, it is a reflection of how my life has gone where it stands today and what I think and see of life back then to now,” he recalled. 5. Monastery (Photo Source: Hotstar) Virat Kohli had a horrific time touring England in 2014. He went into that series with some great expectations to do well. However, things turned out to be the complete opposite for him as he only managed to pile on 134 runs in 10 innings. This tour taught him many things and it was yet another realisation in his career and life on the whole. He felt that he was adding too much pressure on himself and should instead focus on enjoying his game. It was around that time when he got a ‘Monastery’ tattoo inked symbolizing peace and power helping him understand the game better. He later excelled on the Australia tour and was also handed over the Test captaincy before the end of the Test series. 6. Japanese Samurai (Photo Source: Hotstar) Many would have observed a huge tattoo on Kohli’s left upper arm. That signifies the philosophy called ‘The Bushido code of the Samurai’. This code states the seven virtues of a warrior. Virat believes that it keeps reminding him of the basic virtues of life which helps him both personally and professionally. He described it as similar to going back to the ‘Basics of the game’, as they describe it in cricket. The seven virtues of Bushido are Gi (Justice), Yu (Courage), Jin (Benevolence), Rei (Politeness), Makoto (Honesty), Meiyo (Honor) and Chugi (Loyalty). 7. God’s Eye (Photo Source: Hotstar) Just above the Japanese Samurai, on his left shoulder, Virat Kohli has got a celestial eye tattoo which he likes to call the ‘God’s Eye’. The philosophy behind this tattoo is every action that he initiates and every action that takes places around him is being watched by someone and this keeps him accountable in a way. “I call it the God’s eye. So, basically, the all-seeing eye. That everything that’s happening is being watched and there’s someone always keeping a count of everything that you do. So that makes you feel connected in a way and also, that makes you understand the essence of life and what we need to do as human beings and what our eventual goal is,” the chase-master explained. 8. Om Symbol (Photo Source: Hotstar) This tattoo is inked right beside the God’s eye. Now, there is a huge philosophy behind this tattoo which Virat believes in. He believes that ‘Om’ sound is the most consistent thing in the whole universe. This is the latest design that he has got on his hand. It keeps him grounded as he knows that no matter how big his ego makes him feel, he is not even a dust particle in the context of the universe. In his own words: “The last one that I have here is finished with an Om symbol, which is the universal sound, which is probably the most consistent thing in the whole universe. Anywhere you observe sounds of the universe that is, you know, what is the most consistent sound that you will hear and that is the essence of life. To understand you’re not even a dust particle in the universe and sometimes our ego allows us to think that we’re everything. So, I think it’s quite astonishing and quite magnificent in a lot of ways. I’ve started to understand that now… So, I have started to realize strongly that I’m meant to be where I am and this is not random.” 9. Scorpio (Photo Source: Hotstar) Virat was born on November 5th, 1988. Hence, his zodiac sign is Scorpio. But, that is not the only reason why he has got Scorpio words inked on his right hand. The Indian captain believes that there are a lot of virtues in him which is exactly the same as the ones Scorpions possess. For instance, they are very passionate, patience has a particular way of waiting with dynamic expectation in it. Therefore, it has all inspired this legend to get a Scorpio tattoo inked. For all the latest cricket news and other updates follow CricTracker.

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9 tattoos that signify everything that’s important to Virat Kohli

According to psychologists and experts, his tattoos symbolize the butterfly effect.

3. 175 and 269

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