One day before the start of the 1st Test between India and Bangladesh, Virat Kohli sent his legion of fans into a frenzy with series of cryptic tweets on Wednesday morning. Kohli, who rarely posts on X barring endorsement videos, posted the word 'kindness', and later followed it with 'chivalry' and 'respect', enough to spark all kind of speculations. The Indian batting stalwart returns to action on Thursday as India kick off their home season with the series opener in Chennai. This is Kohli's first Test assignment since January against South Africa as he missed the five-Test series against England at home due to personal reasons, later revealed to be the pregnancy of his wife Anushka Sharma.
On February 15, Virat and Anushka's son Akaay was born, with Kohli announcing the news five days later. That, as it turned out, was Kohli's last 'personal' tweet. In between, although he congratulated Shikhar Dhawan on his retirement, Kohli's social media was mostly filled with endorsement videos. Given how rarely Kohli posts on X, or reveals any personal activity to the world whatsoever, the fact that he tweeted about kindness, chivalry and respect on the eve of Indian cricket's return has definitely puzzled the audience.
Back in the day, before he became captain of the Indian team, Kohli used to be very active on his social media handles, especially X. Kohli would post vlogs while on vacation, speak about random things, casually wish everyone hoping they're doing well, post videos of hitting the ball between a tyre and wish his fans on festivals. Basically, Kohli shared almost anything and everything under the sun. But as time went on and Kohli became captain, his social media activity got limited. Still, he would post a random video out of the blue, taking fans by a pleasant surprise. Who can forget when he introduced Anushka on a treadmill while working out at the gym? As the two got married, Kohli and Anushka came together to post short video clips - on New Year's and during lockdown.
{{/usCountry}}Back in the day, before he became captain of the Indian team, Kohli used to be very active on his social media handles, especially X. Kohli would post vlogs while on vacation, speak about random things, casually wish everyone hoping they're doing well, post videos of hitting the ball between a tyre and wish his fans on festivals. Basically, Kohli shared almost anything and everything under the sun. But as time went on and Kohli became captain, his social media activity got limited. Still, he would post a random video out of the blue, taking fans by a pleasant surprise. Who can forget when he introduced Anushka on a treadmill while working out at the gym? As the two got married, Kohli and Anushka came together to post short video clips - on New Year's and during lockdown.
{{/usCountry}}Kohli's limited social media activity
However, over the last one year, Kohli has gone awfully quiet, now posting once in every blue moon. Last year, he expressed disappointment when his privacy was breached as a clip of his hotel room was shared by an employee and circulated all over the internet. Even the year before, when the cameras captured visual of his daughter Vamika and aired them on TV, he was quick to address the matter. Around the Asia Cup 2022, Kohli put out a random post on MS Dhoni, which again triggered all sorts of speculations, including that of his retirement. Before the start of the ODI World Cup 2023 as well, Kohli kindly requested his friends not to bombard him with ticket requests. Given these incidents, Kohli's decision to limit his social media activity could be a way to protect his personal life from further intrusion.
Kohli has been away from the limelight for a while now. Last seen in the ODI series against Sri Lanka, Kohli's appearance was very brief as he failed to make an impact in the three-match affair. Between then and now, Kohli was away in London spending time with his family as a couple of videos emerged – Kohli crossing the streets with Anushka and later waiting at a train station. While Anushka returned to India earlier this month, Kohli straightaway landed in Chennai on September 12 to assemble for the team camp in Chennai.