Mumbai: A fresh social media frenzy erupted after Virat Kohli liked a picture of German model Liz Laz, with internet users joking, “algorithm strikes again.”
The interaction, highlighted by prominent photographer Advait Vaidya, quickly went viral, sparking a wave of memes and reactions across platforms.
It also revived the Avneet Kaur episode, when Kohli had attributed a similar incident to a “faulty algorithm.”
The photo was originally shared as a joint Instagram post by Vaidya and Liz in January, where it garnered several thousand likes.
Captioned as ‘Some golden hour shots’ by Liz, the post resurfaced on Thursday after Advait noticed that Kohli had liked it.
The photographer then shared a screenshot of Instagram’s notification showing Kohli’s like on his Stories, bringing the post back into the spotlight.
Sharing a video detailing the like, Vaidya wrote, “How does one react to this.. When the Goat, @virat.kohli .. Likes your Post.. me and @lizlaz_tv are still rubbing our eyes to check if it’s actually happening.. haha.. Thank you Goat.”
This quickly prompted fans to recall last year’s incident, when Kohli had to issue a clarification after liking a photo shared by a fan page of actor Avneet Kaur.
“I’d like to clarify that while clearing my feed, it appears the algorithm may have mistakenly registered an interaction. There was absolutely no intent behind it. I request that no unnecessary assumptions be made. Thank you for your understanding,” Virat had explained back then.
Recalling the incident, a social media user quipped, “Anushka should make him put out an apology again.”
Another commented, “High time Virat gets an alt account to escape these headlines.”
Referring to Virat’s wife, actor Anushka Sharma, and their son Akaay, one joked, “Anushka Sharma, take this phone from Akaay. He is liking random pictures again.”
One user asked, “Algorithm strikes again, Virat?”
Liz identifies herself as a “vlogger, foodie and singer” on Instagram. Based in Germany, she shares that she is of mixed South African and German heritage and holds a Master’s degree in Psychology. With close to half a million followers, she often collaborates with Indian artists and photographers.
Vaidya, on the other hand, is a prominent figure in India’s fashion and entertainment circles, known for working with leading models and celebrities. He frequently posts images from his shoots on Instagram.