Virat Kohli at the airport© X (formerly Twitter)
There was a lot of speculation surrounding Virat Kohli‘s arrival for the T20 World Cup 2024 as the star batter reportedly asked for a short break after IPL 2024. However, the suspense came to an end on Thursday as he left for New York and will be joining the Indian cricket team squad soon. At the airport, Kohli was once again mobbed by fans and paparazzi as he made his way to the gate. When the paparazzi thanked him for the gift he sent them after the birth of his son Akaay, Kohli was quick to credit his wife and Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma for the gift.
“Ma’am ne diya bhai, Maine nehi diya (Anushka gave the gifts, not me).”
Earlier, Kohli and Anushka sent out gift hampers to the paparazzi for respecting their kids’ privacy by not photographing them. Both of them previously requested the photographers to not take photographs of their two kids – daughter Vamika and son Akaay – without their consent.
Virat Kohli gave his autograph to a young fan at the Mumbai Airport before leaving for New York.pic.twitter.com/l5ezgKrNxh
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) May 30, 2024
The gift hamper had a note from Kohli and Anushka that read: “We sincerely thank you for respecting the privacy of our children and for your unwavering cooperation.”
Meanwhile, former Indian cricket team player Suresh Raina believes that the Rohit Sharma-led side is quite balanced but they need to get accustomed to the playing conditions. He pointed out that the matches in the USA will start in the morning and that can pose a problem.
“The team is balanced. Rohit Sharma is the captain. Virat Kohli is in fine form and Suryakumar Yadav is in good touch. Two left-arm pacers are going, who can bowl in powerplay. Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja are going,” he said at an event.
“However, matches there are at 10:00 AM in the morning. The wickets are also drop-in. The team should get used to these wickets and conditions as soon as possible,” he added.
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