Mumbai: The rumours about Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma moving out of India had been doing the rounds for some months. Now, the star cricketer’s childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma has revealed that the celebrity couple is planning to settle in London.
“Virat apne baccho aur patni Anushka Sharma ke sath London mein shift hone ki yojna bana rahe hain. Vo bahut jald hi Bharat chor kar waha basne wale hai (Virat is planning to shift to London with his children and wife Anushka Sharma. He will soon leave India and settle there),” Rajkumar said in an interview with Dainik Jagran.
Virat, born and brought up in Delhi, moved to Mumbai a few years ago. He married Bollywood actress Anushka in December 2017 in Italy’s Florence. They were blessed with a daughter (Vamika) in in January 2021. In February 2024, Anushka gave birth to their second child – son Akaay – in London, with Virat missing the entire five-Test home series against England to be with the family.
Is it an indication that Virat, who has had a string of failures in recent times, is thinking of retirement from international cricket?
Rajkumar dismissed that line of thought, saying that Kohli’s form is not a matter of concern and predicted that he will score two centuries in the fourth and final Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia.
“Virat is playing the best cricket of his career. He scored a century in the first Test against Australia. I believe in the upcoming two Tests, he is going to score two more centuries. He has always enjoyed his cricket. His form is not a matter of concern. He knows how to perform in difficult situations and help his side win matches,” Rajkumar said.
His former coach added that he can foresee Virat playing for another 5 years.
“Virat is still very fit, and not old enough to retireme. I think he will play for five more years. He will definitely play for India in the 2027 ODI World Cup. I have known him for the last 26 years, and that’s why I can say that there’s still so much cricket left in him,” a confident Rajkumar remarked.
Team India and the millions of fans will be hoping that the coach’s words become reality. India need Kohli and skipper Rohit Sharma, both pushing 40, to get big scores if they are to get the better of Australia in the next two Tests.
