3 times Virat Kohli debunked media rumors
Star Indian cricketer Virat Kohli is one of the biggest names in the sports world. With more than 200 million Instagram followers, Kohli owns the record for the most followers by an Asian on the social media platform.
Virat Kohli has earned such a massive fan following with his incredible performances on the cricket field. He has the highest number of international hundreds among all active cricketers in the world. Fans also love the star Indian batter's aggressive attitude and commitment towards fitness.
He is an inspiration to millions, but at the same time, when an individual becomes such a big brand, there are some people who try to gain attention by spreading false information about Virat Kohli. Sometimes those rumors even reached Kohli, and he decided to debunk those false claims himself. Here's a list of three such instances.
#1 Virat Kohli reacts to rumors of him earning more than ₹10 crore per Instagram post
As mentioned earlier, Kohli is the most-followed Asian on Instagram. The star Indian batter regularly shares 'paid partnership' posts on the social media platform. While Kohli charges hefty amounts for those posts, the exact figure always remains between the companies and the cricketer's management only.
Several media reports have surfaced online claiming that Kohli charges around ₹3 crore for one post. However, a recent report surprisingly claimed that the star Indian batter charges ₹11.5 crore just for one Instagram post.
Fans found it hard to believe, and Kohli himself came up with a clarification on Twitter.
"While I am grateful and indebted to all that I’ve received in life, the news that has been making rounds about my social media earnings is not true," Kohli tweeted.
#2 Virat Kohli slams media reports of rift with Rohit Sharma
After India lost the 2019 Cricket World Cup semifinal against New Zealand, media reports emerged claiming that there is a rift between Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Virat was the captain at that time, while Rohit was his deputy. A report even claimed that the Indian squad has been divided into two groups - Team Virat and Team Rohit.
When asked at a press conference about his relationship with Rohit Sharma before the West Indies tour in 2019, Kohli replied:
"In my opinion, it's baffling, to be honest. It's absolutely ridiculous to read such stuff that comes out there. I've played the game for 11 years, Rohit has played for 10 years. It's bizarre that you people are creating this on the outside when, as I said, [so much] about the change room environment."
#3 Kohli slams English media for ball-tampering allegations
After the second Test of the India vs England series in 2016/17, British media reported that the-then Indian skipper Virat Kohli tried to tamper the ball. Answering a query regarding the same at a press conference before the third Test, Kohli said:
"This is just to take focus away from series. To me, newspaper article doesn't matter over ICC's decision. I don't read newspapers, was told five days later that such things happened, I just laughed it off."
Kohli did not receive any warnings or punishment from the ICC during that series, proving that the media reports were baseless.