"It was when you mocked me" - Glenn Maxwell opens up on when he found Virat Kohli had blocked him on Instagram during IND vs AUS 2017 series
Veteran Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has narrated an incident when he found that Virat Kohli had blocked him on Instagram. The Victorian revealed that Kohli had blocked him due to the all-rounder mocking the Indian legend during the Test series in 2017.
The incident dates back to the Ranchi Test between India and Australia in 2017. With Kohli hurting his shoulder on Day 1 of the Test while fielding, Maxwell had mocked him when it was Australia's turn to field. The Aussie all-rounder mimicked the right-handed batter, who had clutched his shoulder in pain.
Speaking on The LiSTNR's podcast, the 36-year-old revealed being surprised to not find Kohli on Instagram after turning up for pre-IPL training. With the Aussie cricketer asking the veteran Indian batter if he has been blocked, Kohli admitted to it. He recalled:
"When I turned up for the pre-IPL training camp, we obviously got chatting and spent a fair bit of time training together as you do. So I go to his social media, follow him. Didn't even think about it before that. Never really crossed my mind. I was like 'I can’t find him'. Then I went and asked him 'Have you blocked me on Instagram?' And he was like, 'Yeah probably. It was when you mocked me during that Test match. I think I got the sh*** and decided to block you.'"
Tempers flared between the two sides throughout the series. Despite Steven Smith's superhuman efforts with the bat, India won the four-Test series 2-1.
"It was a nice little story to have as a little side note" - Glenn Maxwell
Maxwell suggested that he and Kohli go way back and have had a bittersweet relationship with one another over the years. He elaborated:
"It was a nice little story to have as a little side note but we've had quite a funny relationship leading up to playing the IPL together. Sharing that dressing room and sharing experiences, becoming parents, I suppose, around the same time. From the days we were both young and brash and going hard at each other on the field."
The Victorian has been with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) since 2021, but could be released for the mega auction for the 2025 edition.