'Sir Viv patted his shoulder, said thank you' - Vivek Razdan recalls Virat Kohli's gesture during India's 2019 West Indies tour

Former Indian pacer Vivek Razdan has narrated an incident in which Virat Kohli ended up winning Sir Vivian Richards’ respect after a kind gesture. Not only that but the West Indies legend also patted Kohli’s back during the flight when India had landed in the Caribbean for a bilateral series in 2019.

It so happened that Viv Richards entered the flight with his bag but he could not find a space in the overhead locker since it was full and none of the other players apart from Kohli bothered to lend a helping hand. Kohli took the responsibility on himself to get up and make space for Richards’ luggage.

“In 2019, India had reached West Indies for Tests and ODIs. All the matches were taking place in different islands, and because of it, West Indies cricket arranged a huge flight where everyone – players, production crew, board members and others – used to travel together. After the match in Antigua got over, we had taken the flight to reach to our next destination. The players boarded the flight first, followed by the production crew. The commentary team comprised of Sunil Gavaskar, Viv Richards,” Razdan said on SportsKeeda.

“What happened was that the players were seated, and the flight was almost full. Sir Vivian Richards entered the flight with his bag but he could not find a space in the overhead locker since it was full. He was getting very worried and started opening different lockers to see if there was any space. Suddenly I saw Virat got up and started shuffling everyone’s luggage. Everyone kept sitting, and barring Kohli, no one got up,” he added.

“Now, don’t forget that Kohli back then was not only the captain of the Indian cricket team but he was the biggest name in world cricket. In the end, Kohli moved his own luggage, kept it below the seat in front of him and made room for Sir Richards’s luggage. Sir Viv patted on his shoulder and said ‘thank you’,” Razdan further added.

Meanwhile, the ODI series against the West Indies saw Kohli score his last ODI century, which happened to be his 43rd in the 50-over format. It might be nearly three years now, but it is no mean feat as the batting icon only needs seven more tons to get past Sachin Tendulkar‘s tally of 49 ODI centuries.