Former South African captain AB de Villiers was correct, as evidenced by Indian cricketer Virat Kohli's formal announcement today that he and his wife Anushka Sharma have been blessed with a baby boy on February 15, 2024.
The star cricketer took to his official ‘X’ handle to share, “With abundant happiness and our hearts full of love, we are pleased to inform everyone that on 15th February, we welcomed our baby boy Akaay/अकाय & Vamika's little brother into this world! We seek your blessings and good wishes in this beautiful time in our lives. We request you to kindly respect our privacy at this time. Love & Gratitude. Virat & Anushka.”
Earlier, when Kohli skipped India's first two Tests against England, the cricket fraternity began to speculate on why. The former India captain told the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that he would be withdrawing from the first two Tests for "personal reasons". However, AB de Villiers, one of Kohli's closest cricketing buddies, revealed in a live session on his own YouTube channel that the Delhi batter was awaiting the birth of his second kid.
De Villiers was doing a Question and Answer session with his social media fans when someone asked him about Kohli. That's when he announced the news to the globe.
"I can't disclose too much detail; all I know is that he's fine and spending some time with his family. This is why he missed the first few Tests against England.
"His second child is on the way, so it's family time," de Villiers remarked as he read aloud a recent text message between him and Kohli.
The famed South African batter was then mocked by fans for spilling the news. Later, Kohli's former Indian Premier League (IPL) teammate conceded that he erred by spreading "false information".
"Family comes first, it's priority, as I said on my YouTube show. I also made a terrible mistake at the same time - Sharing false information, which was not true at all. So, I just think whatever space for Virat and his family comes first. No one knows what's happening there. All I can do is wish him well and I think the whole world that follows Virat and enjoys his cricket, must just wish him well and whatever the reason is for this break, really hope that he comes back stronger and better and healthier and fresh and ready to take on the world again," de Villiers told Bhaskar in an exclusive interview.
