Chhattisgarh Villager Receives Calls From Virat Kohli, AB De Villiers After SIM Card Mix-Up

21-year-old Manish Bisi from Chhattisgarh did not expect buying a new phone number would land him receiving calls from the likes of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. The young man's SIM card belonged to cricketer Rajat Patidar, the captain of IPL 2025 winning team, Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

In late June, Bisi from the village in Madagaon brought a new SIM card from a mobile shop in Devbhog. However, to his disbelief, he did not know that it had once belonged to cricketer Patidar.

As per a report in The Times of India, Manish was setting-up WhatsApp along with his friend Khemraj when they saw Patidar's display picture. They ignored it initially, until calls started pouring from people claiming to be Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Yash Dayal.

The duo, who were still clueless about the high-profile calls, got the shock of their lives when Patidar himself called in to request the number back. The RCB captain had reportedly asked Bisi to return the number saying it was crucial for him staying in touch with his teammates.

Gariaband Deputy Superintendent of Police Neha Sinha said the SIM had been deactivated as per telecom policy after 90 days of inactivity and was reassigned to a new customer, which in this case happened to be Manish.

"Manish was actually getting calls from cricketers who were in contact with Rajat Patidar. Patidar informed the Madhya Pradesh Cyber Cell that his number had been allotted to someone else and requested to have it back," she said.

The MP Cyber Cell contacted Gariaband police, which spoke with Manish and his family and with their consent, the SIM was recently returned to Patidar, the Deputy SP informed.

"There was no legal issue or fault on anyone's part. This was simply a result of standard telecom procedures," Sinha added.

Khemraj, an ardent Kohli fan, excitedly said, "I never imagined I would speak to Virat Kohli one day, and that too from our village. When AB de Villiers called, he spoke in English. We couldn't understand a word, but we were so thrilled."

"When Manish used to get calls, he would hand over the phone to me. The callers who identified themselves as Virat Kohli and Yash Dayal asked us why we were using Patidar's number. We explained to them we had bought a new SIM and this is our number," Khemraj added.

The villagers are overjoyed because most people here are RCB fans and talking to legends like Kohli and de Villiers is something that cannot be described and even now seems like a dream, said Manish's brother Deshbandhu Bisi.

"Even if it was all due to a mix-up, these conversations happened out of sheer luck. People just dream of seeing them, we got to speak to them," Deshbandhu gushed.

(with PTI inputs)