Mumbai: Virat Kohli pulled out of the first two Tests of the ongoing series against England due to personal reasons, leaving fans wondering if anything was wrong.
Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers, a very good friend of Kohli since their days of playing together at Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL, provided a major clarification on Saturday.
De Villiers said he had checked with Kohli after he pulled out of the Tests and that the master batter is fine and healthy, and is spending time with family as he and wife Anushka Sharma are expecting the birth of their second child.
“All I know is he is fine. He is spending a bit of time with his family, that is the reason he is missing the first two Test matches… I cannot wait to see him back. He is fine, he is doing well,” De Villiers said in his YouTube show AB 360 Live.
De Villiers praised Kohli, saying that family is a priority and the superstar cricketer can’t be judged for taking a break to be with his close ones during this phase of his life.
De Villiers referred to his text message exchange with Kohli and confirmed the news of former India captain and Anushka expecting their second child.
“Let me just see what he said. I just want to at least give you a little bit of love,” AB said.
“So I wrote to him ‘Been wanting to check in with you for a while… How are you?’ He said, ‘Just need to be with my family right now. I am doing well’.
“Yes, his second child is on the way. Yes, it’s family time and things are important to him. If you are not true and genuine to yourself, you lose track of what you are here for. I think most people’s priority is family. You can’t judge Virat for that,” AB added.
There were reports in November that Anushka was pregnant again, but there was no confirmation.
Popularly called Virushka, the celebrity couple has a three-year-old daughter Vamika.
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