Star batter Virat Kohli opened up on his two-month-long break from international cricket to spend time with his family in a different country. Kohli withdrew his name from the five-match Test series against England played in February-March this year, citing personal reasons. The batting maestro spent time with his family in London, where he and his wife Anushka Sharma were also blessed with a boy last month.
He returned to India days before the opening day of the Indian Premier League but showed no rustiness on the pitch. The star batter scored 77 runs in Royal Challengers Bengaluru‘s second match of the season and helped them register a win over Punjab Kings.
Kohli was also named Player of the Match for his brilliant knock on a placid batting surface.
After the match, Kohli opened up on the break and said it was surreal for him to be at a place where he and his wife Anushka were not getting recognised by the locals.
“We were not in the country (talking about his break). We were in a place where people were not recognising us. Just time together as a family, just to feel normal for two months – for me, my family – it was a surreal experience,” Kohli said in the post-match presentation.
Meanwhile, the 35-year-old also talked about parenthood as he recently became a father for the second time with the birth of his son Akaay.
“Of course having two kids, things become totally different from a family perspective. Just the ability to be together, the connections you make with your older child. Couldn’t have been more grateful to God for the opportunity to spend time with the family. It’s an amazing experience to just be another person on the road and not be recognised,” he added.
Kohli held the one end when RCB continued to lose wickets at regular intervals in the 177-run chase. His knock was laced with 11 fours and two sixes. After his dismissal, things got tricky for RCB, but finishing from Dinesh Karthik (28* in 10 balls, with three fours and two sixes) and Mahipal Lomror (17* in eight balls, with two fours and a six) guided the team to a four-wicket win with four balls left.
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