Virat Kohli was among the top personalities from the cricket fraternity who received an invitation to the Pran Pratishtha of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. The historic event on Monday (January 22) was attended by many celebrities and dignitaries from all walks of life. The legendary Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, Ravichandran Ashwin, Rohit Sharma, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Venkatesh Prasad, Harmanpreet Kaur and Mithali Raj were also invited.
Meanwhile, it is not clear whether Kohli, Rohit and Dhoni attended the ceremony as no pictures or videos of the trio have surfaced on the internet yet. Some fans took to social media to express their disappointment that the star cricketers did not attend the event despite being invited. However, a video is doing the rounds on X (formerly known as Twitter) claiming that Kohli’s convoy has arrived in Ayodhya on the eve of the Pratishtha ceremony.
Virat Kohli's convoy in Ayodhya.
– The ? has reached Ram Janmabhoomi. pic.twitter.com/HwkmAA2388
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) January 21, 2024
The ace cricketer’s absence is learned to be due to personal reasons. Kohli, who was in Hyderabad with Team India for training ahead of the first Test of the five-match series against England, pulled out of the first two matches. However, some people got to see Virat Kohli’s doppelganger in Ayodhya and went crazy behind the man.
In a video that has gone viral on social media, Kohli’s lookalike can be seen wearing Team India’s number 18 jersey and a group of people flocking to take selfies with him. Fans on social media flooded the comment section with hilarious comments.
Watch the video below:
Duplicate Virat Kohli at Ayodhya.
– People going crazy after seeing Duplicate Virat Kohli. [Piyush Rai]pic.twitter.com/eJeWkr5TBJ
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) January 22, 2024
Kohli’s decision to skip the first two Tests will surely hurt the team. The 35-year-old has a good record against England, especially in home conditions. The Indian Cricket Board issued a statement on Monday (January 22) saying that the management, including captain Rohit Sharma, had been informed before the star batter took the call. The board also requested fans and media to respect his privacy.
“The Indian Cricket Board respects his decision and the Board and team management has extended its support to the star batter and is confident in the abilities of the remaining squad members to step up and deliver commendable performances in the Test series,” the statement read.
Here’s how fans reacted:
Hahahaha craze for king is unreal
— Secular Chad (@SachabhartiyaRW) January 22, 2024
Chutiya bna diya ?? pic.twitter.com/cNArOdAkPi
— Mayurrrr (@themayurchouhan) January 22, 2024
Yeh log darshan karne aaye the ke picnic manane?
— Akshay Shah – Founder CEO, iWebTechno | GenZDealZ (@AkshayiWeb) January 22, 2024
That's hilarious ??
— Sankott (@Iamsankot) January 22, 2024
Even duplicate Virat attracts more audience. ??
— Nirmal Roy (@nroy11) January 22, 2024
Haha lol?
— Shimva (@BoronKohli) January 22, 2024
Virat Kohli has a huge following in India, and even a duplicate version of him can create quite a stir. ?
— Sonam Murarkar (@murarkar_sonam) January 22, 2024
Log bhi kitna murkh hei virat kohli Jersey pehnke jayega hi kyu
— Mintu Dutta (@MNGamin65372627) January 22, 2024
Wow, that's pretty amazing! It's not every day that you see a perfect duplicate of a famous athlete like Virat Kohli. ??
— Sonam Murarkar (@murarkar_sonam) January 22, 2024
