Why Virat Kohli gifted his shirt to Roelof van der Merwe? Two Possible Reasons

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India registered a clinical victory over the Netherlands in their final group stages match of the World Cup 2023.

The hosts won the match by 160 runs, and thus completed their group stages with 9 wins out of nine matches, thus finishing at the top of the table and qualifying for the semi-finals with a hundred per cent winning record.

Chasing 411 runs, Netherlands were dismissed for 250 as the Dutch ended their campaign with the bottom-placed finish. But they had two victories in the campaign, which will be a building block for them in the future.

India's batting stalwart Virat Kohli scored a crafty half-century in the match, and then won the hearts after the end of the match as he exchanged his shirt with Dutch player Roelof van der Merwe.

Van der Merwe took Kohli's wicket earlier in the match as the India batter's elusive 50th ODI century was not to materialise in Bengaluru. But there was only affection and admiration between the duo as they embraced tightly at the end of the match, with Kohli gifting the veteran Dutch player his shirt.

Kohli's magnanimous attitude has been lauded across the world and the Dutch team also collaborated with ICC for an emotional farewell video as they bowed out of the tournament.

Why Virat Kohli gifted his shirt to Roelof van der Merwe?

As a matter of respect, Virat Kohli must have given his shirt to Roelof van der Merwe. The duo know each other from their Royal Challengers Bangalore days as the Dutch player has been a part of RCB in the past. Hence there is a prior connection between Kohli and van der Merwe, which can be a valid reason.

Also, the match against India was likely Roelof's final World Cup appearance. The veteran is 38 years old and with Netherlands' World Cup qualification depending on the complex matter of qualifiers, it is a matter of question whether they will be back in four years time. Hence perhaps it was a farewell gift from Kohli to his one time mate.