X user claims fan calling Virat Kohli 'Chokli' during practice is a morphed clip, shares 'original' video
Team India batter Virat Kohli was taunted using the term 'Chokli' by a fan in Sri Lanka recently, as per a video going viral on social media. However, an X user has rebutted the claim and shared another version of the video, claiming that it's the original clip. In this video, there's no audio of anyone calling Kohli 'Chokli'.
In the first video that went viral on social media on Wednesday, July 31, Kohli is seen shadow-practicing in a room with some teammates. A fan, however, starts taunting him by referring to 'Chokli'. The former India captain is seen responding to the fan by straightforwardly telling him:
"Not here."
As per an X user named Gaurav (@Melbourne__82), there is no mention of the term 'Chokli' in what he termed as the original clip of the incident. While sharing the video, he wrote:
"Here's the original clip... Most likely a fan was asking for Kohli's autograph and Kohli replied not here."
While several media reports have claimed that Kohli lost his cool on listening to the term 'Chokli' (in the first clip), no such conclusion can be drawn from the seven-second clip. The term 'Chokli' has been coined by Kohli haters on social media, who promote the theory that the batter chokes in big games.
The theory gained prominence on social media after Kohli was dismissed for 1 in the 2019 ODI World Cup semifinal against New Zealand in Manchester. He was earlier dismissed for 1 in the 2017 Champions Trophy final against Pakistan and the 2015 ODI World Cup semifinal against Australia.
Kohli, however, proved that he is a big-match player by scoring half-centuries in the 2023 ODI World Cup final against Australia in Ahmedabad and the 2024 T20 World Cup final against South Africa in Barbados.
Earlier, the 35-year-old had also smashed 72* off 44 in the 2014 T20 World Cup semifinal against South Africa and 77 off 58 in the final of the same ICC event against Sri Lanka. The right-handed batter also hammered a brilliant 89* off 47 in a losing cause against West Indies in the 2016 T20 World Cup semifinal in Mumbai.
Virat Kohli's record against Sri Lanka in ODIs
Kohli (35) has an excellent record against Sri Lanka in one-day cricket. In 53 matches, he has smashed 2594 runs at an average of 63.26 and a strike rate of 93.91, with 10 hundreds and 12 fifties.
The right-handed batter's best of 166* came off 110 balls at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram in January 2023. The number three batter struck 13 fours and eight sixes in his excellent knock.
Kohli arrived in Sri Lanka recently for the three-match ODI series, which will get underway on Friday, August 2. He was not part of the T20I series that ended recently since he retired from the format after the 2024 T20 World Cup.