Lucknow: Kartik Sharma, who describes himself as a content creator on social media, is known for his resemblance to Virat Kohli.
Kartik, whose Instagram handle has the username kartikkohlee18, has often caught people by surprise with his Kohli-like appearance.
Recently, he pulled off a major prank at a shopping mall by going out of his way to pretend to be the cricket star.
Kartik shared a video on Instagram in which he is seen getting off a luxurious car with four bodyguards in front of a mall, possibly Lulu Mall in Lucknow.
The beard with moustache and backbrushed hair in place, Kartik sported a Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) jersey that Kohli uses in the IPL, paired with an RCB cap and black shades. He even had Kohli-like tattooes.
He caught attention easily as it was almost impossible to make out that this was a ‘fake’ Virat Kohli.
As Kartik entered the mall, he drew bystanders just like the legendary Pied Piper.
Kartik describes in the video that even security staff of the mall rush to his aid as people rushed towards him, leaving whatever they were doing. Shoppers, and even securitywomen in black are seen running up the escalator to catch up with him.
They were not content in having a ‘darshan’, everyone wanted to take selfie with ‘Kohli’.
The video went viral, but a majority of netizens pulled up Kartik for playing such a prank.
Many of the social media users felt that Kartik had played with the emotions of Virat Kohli fans.
“Bhai you played with their emotions,” wrote one person.
“Why are you playing with their emotions? Har ek ka sapna hota hai ki Virat ke sath selfie len,” asked another user.
“Not cool,” remarked one netizen.
“This isn’t just a prank; it’s a massive safety hazard. Forcing mall security away from their actual jobs puts everyone in danger if a real emergency happens,” pointed out another person.