One day after retracting his initial statement, ex-South African captain AB de Villiers issued a new apology on his YouTube show, acknowledging his mistake about Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma’s second child. He requested fans to respect the former Indian captain’s privacy amid speculations surrounding Kohli’s absence from the first two Tests against England for personal reasons.
Contrary to what fans anticipated, the 35-year-old remained unavailable as the BCCI revealed the squad for the last three Tests on Saturday, February 10. The statement released by the BCCI on Saturday stated:
“Virat Kohli will remain unavailable for selection for the remainder of the series due to personal reasons. The Board fully respects and supports Mr. Kohli’s decision.”
Meanwhile, De Villiers recognized his error in sharing unverified details about Kohli and Anushka and expressed his desire to witness the experienced batsman back in action soon. He conveyed this message on his YouTube channel, stating:
“My friend Virat Kohli is still not available. I cry out to everybody to give him the privacy that he deserves. Family comes first. No one knows what exactly is going on. I am asking all of us to respect that. I did bit of a blunder in my previous show and I apologise to the Kohli family for that. Just not nice.”
He added: “I shared information that was not confirmed at all so. I am begging everyone out there to respect him and his family and his private time. Hopefully, we will see Virat back, happy and scoring runs. Like he always does.”
What did AB de Villiers say about Virat Kohli in his statement?
Responding to a fan’s inquiry about Kohli’s absence from the England series on his YouTube channel, De Villiers announced that Kohli is expecting his second child and emphasized that judgment should not be passed on his decision to prioritize family during this period. The ex-batsman stated:
“All I know is he is fine. He is spending a bit of time with his family, that is the reason he is missing the first two Test matches. I am not going to confirm anything else. I cannot wait to see him back. He is fine, he is doing well. Yes, his second child is on the way.”
He continued: “Yes, it’s family time and things are important to him. If you are not true and genuine to yourself, you lose track of what you are here for. I think most people’s priority is family. You can’t judge Virat for that.”
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