Moments after helping Royal Challengers Bengaluru beat Punjab Kings, Virat Kohli recalled the blissful time he spent with family after becoming a father for the second time. (Full IPL 2024 Coverage | More Cricket News)
The Indian batting titan struck a match-winning knock of 77 runs off just 49 balls to guide RCB to a four-wicket win in match 6 of Indian Premier League 2024. But before that, he was out of action and had missed the five-match Test series against England, as he was abroad for the birth of his second child Akaay.
Kohli said the extended break allowed him to spend quality time with family. Not being recognised on the streets was what he enjoyed the most. "We were not in the country. We were at a place where people were not recognising us. Just time together as a family, just to feel normal for two months. For me, for us as a family, it was a surreal experience.
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"Of course, having two kids, things become totally different from a family perspective. So just the ability to be together, the connections that you make with your older child, it's amazing. I mean, I couldn't have been more grateful to God for the opportunity that I got to spend time with my family," he added.
For the 35-year-old former India captain, not being mobbed is in itself a luxury and he cherished the time away from the limelight.
"...the place that we were in, I was telling the guys (RCB teammates) that when we came back, the voices back home felt that much louder.
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"I couldn't look up because I was just not used to being called my name for two months. And then immediately you hear these loud noises and then you're back in it all again.
"But it was beautiful. It's an amazing experience to just be another person on the road and not be recognised and just carry on about life that normally people would on a daily basis," Kohli stated.
