Artist Partha Das wishes to gift Test skipper Virat Kohli a painting of him

A passionate painter named Partha Das who expertises in his hand at sketching portraits of cricketers and musicians is fully prepared to present India’s Test captain Virat Kohli a portrait of him at the Eden Gardens on Thursday, the eve of India’s second Test against New Zealand.

He has been at the stadium for the past couple of days and was seen putting final touches to the painting which shows skipper Kohli donning a white India cap and a smile on his face.

“I want to present this painting to Virat. That’s why I am here. I spoke to Biswarup da (Dey, treasurer, Cricket Association of Bengal) and he said that I can gift it to him on the fourth day of the match. I have previously drawn pictures of Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar.”

Besides cricket, Das says, he has sketched pictures of various musicians.

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“I have painted portraits of Bismillah Khan among others. I do this out of passion and for those who I love like Virat,” Das, a school teacher by profession, added.

India will meet New Zealand after having taken a 1-0 lead at Kanpur. The Virat Kohl led side scripted an easy 196 run win with the help of Ravichandran Ashwin’s 10 wicket haul and Ravindra Jadeja’s all-round performances.

Coming into the second test, India will most likely see a couple of change after the selectors brought in off-spinner Jayant Yadav and veteran opener Gautam Gambhir for the upcoming match. While Jayant has earned his maiden India call-up, Gambhir, if he finds a place in the starting XI, will be seen in the whites two years gap.