Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers became a butt of jokes on social media after India superstar Virat Kohli announced the birth of his second child, son Akaay.

“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 & 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,” Virat Kohli said in a post on X. 

The reason behind AB de Villiers' mockery on the microblogging platform was his initial disclosure and then denial of Virat Kohli's wife Anushka Sharma's pregnancy.

 

Virat Kohli has been missing from cricketing action with the Rohit Sharma-led side engaged in a five-match Test series against England at home. Virat Kohli has officially cited “personal reasons” behind his absence from the fixtures against the Three Lions.

 

 Though previous reports claimed that Virat Kohli's mother, Saroj Kohli, was suffering from a liver ailment and the senior India batter wanted to be with her at this stage, his brother Vikas Kohli quashed those speculations.

 

“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,” Vikas Kohli said in his post on Instagram.

 

Subsequently, former South Africa skipper AB de Villiers dropped a bombshell revealing that Virat Kohli withdrew from the series against England due to the impending arrival of his second child.

 

He noted that the Delhi-born cricketer's wife, actress Anushka Sharma, was expecting a baby three years after she gave birth to their daughter Vamika in 2021. 

 

“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 happy,” AB de Villiers said on his YouTube channel.

 

 “Let me just see what he said. I just want to at least give you a little bit of love,” the former South Africa skipper added.

 

“So I wrote to him ‘Been wanting to check in with you for a while now biscuits. How are you?'. He said ‘Just need to be with my family right now'. Then I said I am doing well,” AB de Villiers continued.

 

“Yes, his second child is on the way. 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. Yes, we miss him, but he has made the right decision,” he stressed.

 

However, days later, AB de Villiers made a stunning U-turn, declaring that he gave the wrong information about Virat Kohli and his family.

 

“Family comes first and then Cricket. I had made a big mistake on my YouTube channel. That information was wrong and not true at all. I think whatever's best for Virat's family comes first. No one knows what's happening there, all i can do is wish him well. Whatever the reason for his break, I hope he can comeback stronger, better and fresh from this,” AB de Villiers told Dainik Bhaskar. 

 

Nonetheless, AB de Villiers issued a formal apology to Virat Kohli and his family before admitting that he made a “blunder” by giving untrue information about the India cricketer.

 

“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,” AB de Villiers said on YouTube.

 

“Just not nice. 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,” he elaborated.

 

In January, Virat Kohli scripted history by becoming the first cricketer to claim ten 10 ICC Cricketer of the Year awards. 

 

It is worth noting that no other player in the history of cricket has won five ICC awards, while Virat Kohli has already picked up with the possibility of a few more trophies not being ruled out.

 

Team India's batting mainstay, Virat Kohli, delivered the goods for the Rohit Sharma-led side in last year's Cricket World Cup as he emerged as the leading run-scorer in the quadrennial event. 

 

Virat Kohli scored 765 runs with three centuries in the premier ODI competition, earning the Player of the Tournament award in the ICC World Cup. 

 

Virat Kohli's heroics, however, failed to take India past the final hurdle as the home team lost to a rampaging Australia in the final, leaving Rohit Sharma and his colleagues in tears.