Virat Kohli masks, cake-cutting: CAB plans special ceremony for ex-India captain's birthday

Virat Kohli will celebrate his 35th birthday on 5 November, the same day India take on South Africa in the 2023 World Cup at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Now, to celebrate Kohli’s birthday, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has arranged unique celebration at the venue. They have planned to distribute 70,000 ‘Kohli masks’ to the spectators attending the World Cup match.

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Apart from the masks, the CAB has also organised a cake-cutting ceremony and a felicitation for Kohli just before the match. Speaking to the media, CAB president Snehasish Ganguly said, “We hope to get an approval from the ICC on this. We want to make the day special for Virat. We want every fan in the stadium wearing Kohli masks when he walks in. We plan to distribute about 70,000 masks that day.”

It should be mentioned here that Eden Gardens was all decked up in 2013 when Sachin Tendulkar played his penultimate Test match at the venue. On the first two days of the match, spectators were provided with Tendulkar masks and placards.

Virat Kohli has been in superb form in the ongoing 2023 World Cup. He started with an excellent 85-run knock against Australia. He then slammed his 48th ODI century with a remarkable 103* against Bangladesh. He led India’s chase with dexterity in the key match against New Zealand when he fell for 95 runs. He was, however, dismissed for a duck against England in Lucknow.

So far, Kohli has racked up 354 runs from six innings at an average of 88.50. He is currently the second-highest run-getter for Team India in the ongoing ICC event and will be key to the side’s fortunes as they aim to win the title.

So far, the Indian team is the only unbeaten side in the tournament with 6 wins in as many matches. Their next assignment will be against Sri Lanka in Mumbai, before they head east to take on South Africa in Kolkata.