Watch: Virat Kohli explains why number 18 special for his life

Because of Virat Kohli, the jersey number 18 of the Indian cricket team is considered iconic. During an event, Kohli explained how the number 18 became unparalleled with his life significantly. 

December 18 was a sad day for Virat Kohli. Virat Kohli's father, Prem Kohli, died on December 18, 2006, at the age of 54, due to a brain stroke. The death occurred while Virat, then 18 years old, was playing a Ranji Trophy match for Delhi against Karnataka. After that, Virat tried to get rid of the number 18. 

But no one knows how the future is going to be treated. Kohli was determined to get rid of the number eighteen but couldn't. When he went to play for the India Under-19 team, he was presented with the number 18 jersey. Then, when he made his debut for the main team of India, it was again the same number, which eventually took him to the highest rank of the game. 

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Virat Kohli explains why number 18 is special for him

"First I wanted number seven since my roll number in school was seven. But someone was already wearing jersey number seven. Then a BCCI manager said I should take 18 since my birthday is on 18 July. At that time, I didn’t know that Virat Kohli also wears number 18," Kohli said this before on a program. 

"To be honest, 18 started off as being just a number that was given to me when I first opened that India U-19 jersey with my name and number on the back. But it ended up becoming a very, very important number in my life. I made my India debut on August 18. My father also died on December 18, 2006. Two of the most significant moments of my life happened to be on the 18th. Even though I got the number before that, there seems to be a cosmic connection with this date," Kohli said.