Virat Kohli plays it for the Kids

BIRMINGHAM: Kids have taken over the match between India and England at Edgbaston!  Dubbed as ‘The Playground Pundits’, kids are in-charge of PA announcements, social media, broadcast interviews and the media conference as part of ICC’s ‘#OneDay4Children’ initiative to raise funds for children across the world.

When Virat Kohli walked into the packed media room for the pre-match conference, 10-year-old Edward took centre stage. “Hello everyone. I’m Edward, and I’ll be your media manager for today. I’m very excited to introduce India’s captain Virat Kohli,” said Edward nonchalantly as Kohli stood behind him in admiration.

A little girl, Neha, set the tone before the real quote-hungry media laid their hands on the mic. “Hi, Virat. I’m Neha. Are you and the Indian team excited for tomorrow’s match?,” she asked.

“Yes, Neha. Thank you for the lovely question. We are excited. It’s a very special occasion, the first time that it’s been done, and we’re very proud that we’re a part of such a special game, and we’re very excited, and I hope all of you are excited to watch as well,” said Kohli.

Virat gives 8 on 10 for India’s orange jersey

One of the hot topics of discussion in the run-up to Sunday’s game is India’s brand new orange jersey that they will be wearing against England. India skipper Virat Kohli didn’t hesitate to give the new kit a high rating of 8 out of 10, but he insisted that blue remains their choice of colour. “I’m not saying it for the sake of it. I really like it because it looks nice. The contrast is really nice. The fit is great. It’s a nice change. For one game, it’s fine. I don’t think permanently we’ll be heading in that direction because blue has always been our colour, and we’re very proud to wear that. Yeah, for a change and looking at the occasion, I think it’s a very smart kit,” he added.

Opposition parties such as Congress and Samajawadi raised a furore that cricket is being “saffronised” by the central government.