For Rahul Rai from Shantipur of Guwahati, it was a god-sent opportunity to meet the man he has been an ardent fan of for the last eleven years.
The partially sick youth went down to the Lokopirya Gopinath Bordoloi Ariport at Borjhar to test his luck and seek a chance to meet Virat Kohli after he landed in Guwahati on the 29th of September for the 2nd T20 match to played against South Africa.
“I was there at the airport, I could see him coming out and approach the shuttle bus. The security did not allow me to go near or to meet him once. I knew, Kholi would be in the city for the next four days and fancied my chances to meet him at the ACA Barsapara Stadium in practice sessions. Here too the security cover was elaborate and eluded me a chance to meet my hero and click a selfie with him” expressed Rahul Rai.
With windows of possibilities closing upon Rai, the young youth was left with no other choice than to book a room in the hotel where both teams including Kohli were putting up. And he did exactly that, got a room booked for rupees 23,400 for the night.
“I think I was fortunate to get a vacant room. In the morning I could see him in the breakfast bay. I called him many times but the security was a hindrance here too. I did not want to give away this last chance and I told the hotel people that I was hungry and not keeping well. They allowed me to move into the breakfast area. Food was my least interest, I called Kohli many times here too. At one point he noticed me and asked me to meet him outside the breakfast area. I presented a framed collage of the Fan Page on instagram that I created in his name and have one lakh followers. He said he cannot carry it back and autographed it for me to keep as a sweet souvenir of this meeting. We clicked a selfie” expressed an elated Rahul Rai.
“We are expecting a full house. Out of about 38,000 seats, 21,200 were for the general public and the tickets were sold online in two phases. The tickets were sold out in no time” stated Devjit Lon Saikia Secretary Assam Cricket Assocaiton.
“Another 12,000 tickets were made available for the public through the district associations, and those were sold over the counters. The capacity of the ACA Stadium in Guwahati is 39,500, but 1,500 are “killed seats” as the view of the field is not available from there” added Saikia.
Rahul Rai is a happy young man today as could meet his hero, the man whom his father introduced to him in the 2011 World Cup Final Virat Kohli.
Read all the Latest Buzz News and Breaking News here
Comments
0 comment