The Indian cricket team lost by 28 runs to England at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad on January 28. After the match, some former players and cricket fans suggested that the outcome might have been different if Virat Kohli, who withdrew from the first two tests for personal reasons, had led India instead of Rohit Sharma.
Against this backdrop, a rumour surfaced on social media claiming that it was due to his mother’s illness. A Facebook user shared: “🥺Virat kohli’s mother in hospital:🥺 this reason virat no attend in Ram Mandir And first two Matches us ENG.. ! ~ Pray for His Mother.. #Cricket #Cricketlovers #Viratkohli#indiancricketteam #Reels #Explore— in India.” The post included a photo of Kohli with his mother.
You can check the post here.
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the viral post, and found it to be false.
Running a keyword search on ‘Virat Kohli’s Mother’, the NM team identified a report by The Indian Express, dated February 01, 2024, with a headline: “IND vs ENG: Virat Kohli’s brother dismisses fake news circulating about their mother.”
We also found an Instagram post by Vikas Kohli, dated January 31, 2024, which clearly stated: “Hello everyone, I have noticed that there is this fake news about our mom’s health been circulating around. Let me clear that our mom is absolutely fit and fine. Also, I would request everyone and also the media, not to spread such news without proper information. Thanks everyone for your concern.”
Therefore, we can conclusively state that the viral claim suggesting Virat Kohli was absent from the India-England test series due to his mother’s serious illness is false.