Actor-producer Anushka Sharma and former India captain Virat Kohli had first met on the former’s home turf, in a way. Although Virat has seldom let home and away conditions affect his performance on cricket grounds, he was caught off guard during his first meeting with now-wife Anushka on the sets of a commercial advertisement.
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The two had shot together for three days for the same advertisement which laid the foundation of an amiable bond. A relation which started with friendship around a decade ago eventually blossomed into a romantic one leading to the two high-profile celebrities getting married and also becoming parents to a daughter.
Been spotted at each other’s workplace irrespective of the geographical location during their period of courtship, Virat and Anushka have had each other’s back in challenging professional careers. It was due to the same reason that Virat had credited his wife for seeing his raw side during a professional rut until last year.
How did Anushka Sharma and Virat Kohli meet?
Kohli, who considers meeting Sharma as a life-changing moment, had first met on the sets of an advertisement for a shampoo brand. Having led India for the first time during West Indies Tri-Nation Series 2013, Kohli was handed the captaincy for a full series for the following tour of Zimbabwe.
It is said that it was between the two tours when Kohli was informed about shooting for this particular ad by his manager Bunty Sajdeh. Originally nervous to be shooting alongside a professional actor in Sharma, Kohli had gained confidence after Sajdeh convinced him but couldn’t help himself from being nervous on the day of the shoot.
“I was very nervous and that’s why I cracked a joke because I didn’t know what to do. I was standing on sets and was being all nervous and jittery. She is tall and she was wearing heels and she was being told that I am not that tall,” Kohli had told American journalist Graham Bensinger on his show In Depth With Graham Bensinger in 2019.
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“She walked in with heels and was looking taller than me and I was like ‘Didn’t you get a higher pair of heels?’ Then she was like ‘Excuse me’ and then I was like ‘No, I am just joking’. My joke became such a weird moment for myself. I was such a fool, to be honest. She was so confident, she is on sets regularly.”
Having had similar career trajectories despite being in contrasting fields, Virat and Anushka never looked back since then. In the same interview, Kohli explained how the two of them belonging to middle-class families further aided in understanding and connecting to one another.
When did Virat propose to Anushka?
Taking into consideration their status and popularity in their respective fields, it wasn’t surprising at all that Kohli and Sharma’s frequent meetings led to rumours about them dating each other.
At the start of 2014, Anushka was spotted with Virat in Auckland at the time of India’s tour of New Zealand. Subsequently, Virat had traveled to meet Anushka on the sets of her movies named ‘Bombay Velvet’ (2015) and ‘NH 10’ (2015). In October 2014, the two were spotted watching one of FC Goa’s (co-owned by Kohli) Indian Super League match at a stadium.
In what was perceived as confirmation among fans regarding the two dating each other, Kohli had himself confirmed the same by blowing a kiss towards Sharma during one of the home ODIs against Sri lanka in November 2014.
“It is out in the open. We are not hiding anything. I don’t want to hide anything. But if you get repeatedly asked on the same thing and if it is made a matter of debate then both the individuals don’t feel it is right,” Kohli had confirmed dating Sharma after the conclusion of Sri Lanka ODIs.
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That being said, Virat further mentioned in the aforementioned interview that he never had to ask Anushka out in a quintessential way. Kohli used words such as “organic” and “natural” to describe the transition in their relationship.
When Instagram Live sessions had become a real thing during the COVID-19 lockdown, Kohli had iterated the same during an interaction with Sunil Chetri – captain of the Indian football team. “We never felt like we needed to do that [proposal]. We knew that we were going to marry each other. There were no doubts about it ever,” Kohli had said in 2020.
