Fact check: Did Virat Kohli really play under Tejashwi Yadav's captaincy?

Former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav on September 15 (Sunday) claimed that Virat Kohli played under his captaincy. In case you didn't know, Tejashwi, son of renowned politician Lalu Prasad Yadav, was a cricketer in his younger days and also played domestic cricket for Jharkhand. Before that, he also played age-group cricket for Delhi and often played alongside Kohli. In fact, he dropped out of school to pursue the sport.

"I was a cricketer, and no one talks about it. Virat Kohli played in my captaincy — did anyone ever talk about it? Why don't they do so? As a professional, I played good cricket. Many Team India players are my batchmates," he told Zee media.

According to him, his cricketing career came to an end as he fractured both his ligaments. 

A middle-order batter, Tejashwi played one Ranji Trophy match, two 50-over contests and four T20s for Jharkhand in 2009 and 2010. In fact, he was part of the Delhi Daredevils (DD) squad in the Indian Premier League (IPL) between 2008 and 2012 but did not get a single opportunity. 

However, there is absolutely no evidence to suggest that Kohli ever played under Tejashwi's captaincy. In fact, there have been plenty of games in which Tejashwi has played under Kohli, right from the days the two played Under-15 cricket (Polly Umrigar Trophy) for Delhi until their Under-19 days (Vinoo Mankad Trophy). A report on Moneycontrol.com in 2019 also stated the same.

There's no denying that Tejashwi did lead Delhi in many age-group matches for Delhi, but Kohli was never part of that XI. It is unclear if Kohli did indeed play under Tejashwi in club or school cricket. 

But from whatever official records exist, there is no proof of Tejashwi captaining Kohli at any level.

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