 "Virat Kohli on two month break from cricket: 'Was a surreal experience'")
After his 77-run match-winning knock for Royal Challengers Bengaluru against Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Monday night, Virat Kohli opened up on the two month absence from cricket and from the country itself.
The star batter and wife Anushka Sharma had spent time away from India as the Bollywood actor gave birth to their second child . During this period, the right-handed batter missed the five-match Test series against England .
“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,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation ceremony. “For me, for us as a family, it was a surreal experience.
“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.”
The 35-year-old Kohli spoke about enjoying the rarity of not being treated like a celebrity and having his name hollered by fans and media.
“And yeah, just the place that we were in, I was telling the guys that when we came back, the voices back home felt that much louder,” he said. “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.
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More Shorts“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,” he said.
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