Sipu Jha
NEW DELHI: “Mujhe Virat Kohli jaisa banna hai. Main unke saath khelna chahta hoon [I want to become like Virat Kohli and want to play with him],” a nine-year-old Vihaan Malhotra told his coach Kamal Sandhu when he joined his Cricket Hub Academy in Patiala. Back then, the kid had no idea that his words, desire and dream would one day turn into reality. Now 19, Vihaan — who has been making a name for himself in the ongoing Under-19 World Cup in Zimbabwe — is set to play for Royal Challengers Bengaluru. He will be sharing the dressing room, dugout, ground and crease with Kohli in IPL 2026. Vihaan was bought for Rs 30 lakh at the IPL 2026 auction.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!“Kya pata tha woh bolega yeh aur yeh ek din sach ho jaayega. I am really happy for him. Virat ki videos dekhta tha — uske shots, especially cover drive, isko achhe lagte the. He is also a fitness freak. He always admired Virat and tried to take everything from that legend’s book.
“Playing at RCB will give him a lot of learnings. He is happy — really happy,” the coach said.Vihaan is India’s only centurion in the ongoing ICC Under-19 World Cup. His unbeaten hundred powered India to a comprehensive win over Zimbabwe in their first Super Sixes match of the 2026 Under-19 World Cup in Bulawayo. India set Zimbabwe a daunting target of 353 before skittling them out for 148 in just 37.4 overs.Vihaan leapt into the air, removed his helmet, stretched out his arms and celebrated the century in style. The celebration said it all — a clear message: “I can do anything.”The 19-year-old hasn’t taken long to adopt that mindset in his career. Once an opener, he is now ready to bat at any position, can bowl and pick up wickets, tighten the noose around batters with his spin, and is an acrobat in the field.Before his century against Zimbabwe, Vihaan also claimed four wickets and pulled off two breathtaking catches against Bangladesh.“Hamesha kehta hai, ‘Sir, main kuch bhi kar lunga,’ jab Under-19 World Cup ke liye ja raha tha. He has prepared himself like that. All I told him in the beginning was that if you have to stay in the team for long, then you need to be an all-dimensional player. You should know bowling too, and your fielding has to be brilliant,” the coach said.“He is a proper batter, but he has worked a lot on his bowling too. After batting for four-five hours, he shifts towards bowling and bowls almost seven-eight overs every day at the nets. With time, he has become a good spinner too. And then he signs off his practice session with some fielding drills and watching some of Virat’s videos,” Sandhu, who also trained the likes of Prabhsimran Singh, Anmolpreet Singh and Naman Dhir, said.
Vihaan with Kamal Sandhu (Image credit: Special arrangement)
Vihaan also trained under Ravneet Ricky, a member of India’s triumphant squad at the Under-19 World Cup in 2000 under Mohammad Kaif’s captaincy.Ricky, who began coaching Vihaan in 2022, describes him as the team’s crisis man.“He actually came to me in 2022, when I was the head coach of the Under-16 Punjab team. He was an opener. He has given up that position and made himself an ‘any position’ player. You send him in at any position or situation — he will deliver. He always wanted to be an opener, and when the management told him to play in the middle order, he didn’t say anything, accepted it very gracefully, and performed,” Ricky said.“I am really happy for him that he is going to share the dressing room with a legend like Virat Kohli this year at RCB. After the IPL, a more refined Vihaan will come through. He will have a different approach and mindset after talking to and spending time with Virat. Virat and I have played together a couple of times,” Ricky added.The year 2025 proved impressive for Vihaan. He amassed 277 runs in two Youth Tests, including a knock of 120, and followed it up with 243 runs in five Youth ODIs, highlighted by a century in the fourth match.
Vihaan with Ravneet Ricky (Image credit: Special arrangement)
FAMILY OF DOCTOR AND ENGINEERJust like every family of doctors and engineers wants their child to follow a similar profession, Vihaan too was nudged in that direction.His father Manoj Malhotra, an engineer, and mother Poonam Malhotra, a doctor, took their son to Sandhu to play cricket as a hobby, unaware that the boy had already decided his career long ago.For coach Sandhu, Vihaan was destined to become a cricketer — even though he first came to pursue the sport as a hobby.
Vihan Malhotra during the U19 World Cup (ICC Photo)
“This is a very interesting story. They said, ‘Coach saab, aap please cricket khilao. Mobile phones se door rahega khaali time mein.’ He was excellent in academics too — almost 95 percent in his schooling. He is a dynamic kid, but he kept cricket at the top. I told his parents the kid is talented and to let him play,” Sandhu said.“The moment he crossed 15, his mental strength was something to see. He used to give a lot of time to cricket. With time, he started giving all his time to cricket. I have seen him practising alone too. Coming in the morning around 11 and going back at night at 9 or 10 became his routine,” the coach said.“There are a lot of plans for IPL preparation. Let him come back — we will start those drills too,” the coach signed off.
English 
हिन्दी