Kohli, Anushka receive invitation to attend ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony of Ram Temple

New Delhi: India’s batting talisman Virat Kohli and his wife actor Anushka Sharma on Tuesday received an invitation to attend the Ram Temple ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony on January 22 in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. Kohli became the latest cricketer to be invited to the ceremony.

Apart from Kohli, world Cup-winning former India captain MS Dhoni and India’s all-time great Sachin Tendulkar have also been invited to the ceremony at the grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

Several Bollywood celebrities including Akshay Kumar, Kangana Ranaut, Tiger Shroff, Jackie Shroff, Hariharan, Rajinikanth, Amitabh Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt and Randeep Hooda have also received the invitation for the Ram Mandir ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony in Ayodhya.

Vedic rituals for the Pran-Pratishtha ceremony of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya began on Tuesday, a week before the main ceremony. General secretary of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust Champat Rai said Ram temple will be open for ‘darshan’ for the general public from January 23.

विराट कोहली, अनुष्का शर्मा को मिला राम मंदिर प्राण प्रतिष्ठा का निमंत्रण. ⛳#ViratKohli #AnushkaSharma pic.twitter.com/cBmhJvwMkI

— Abhishek Kumar (@abhishekumar_18) January 16, 2024

“The ‘Pran Prathishtha’ is expected to conclude by 1 pm. PM Modi and others present on the occasion will express their thoughts after the ceremony. As per tradition, gifts in 1000 baskets have come from Nepal’s Janakpur and areas of Mithila. On Jan 20 and 21 darshan will remain closed to public,” he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has started an 11-day special ritual in the run-up to the Pran Pratishtha of Shri Ramlala at the temple at Ayodhya.

Meanwhile, Kohli is a part of India’s T20I squad against Afghanistan. India and visitors will lock horns on Wednesday in the third and last match of the three-match T20I series at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.