Did you know Karisma Kapoor was Virat Kohli’s first crush?

Virat Kohli is one of the biggest names in Indian cricket, but long before he became a global sporting icon, he was just another youngster who had his share of Bollywood crushes.

And according to several reports, the actress who caught Kohli’s eye during his childhood was none other than Karisma Kapoor.

Karisma, one of Bollywood’s biggest stars of the 1990s, was Kohli’s first Bollywood crush. The revelation has resurfaced several times over the years, with reports citing an old interview in which the former India captain spoke about his admiration for the actress.

It is perhaps easy to understand why Karisma was one of the most recognisable faces of Hindi cinema during Kohli’s growing-up years. She became a major star after making her Bollywood debut with Prem Qaidi in 1991 and went on to feature in several hugely popular films during the 1990s.

Interestingly, Kohli’s Bollywood preferences have produced a few different answers over the years. In a 2012 interview with Filmfare, he spoke about his love for Hindi cinema and revealed that Aamir Khan was his favourite among the three Khans.

In another widely reported rapid-fire interaction from his younger days, Kohli named Genelia D’Souza when asked which actress he would like to play cricket with, describing her as “cute”.

That has led to some confusion over the years about who exactly Kohli’s “first crush” was. However, reports specifically describing his childhood crush have consistently named Karisma Kapoor.

Years later, Kohli’s real-life love story became one of India’s most followed celebrity relationships when he met Anushka Sharma. The two eventually married in 2017 and became one of the country’s most prominent celebrity couples.