Virat Kohli Still In Mumbai, Spotted With Anushka Sharma & Gaurav Kapoor Outside City Restaurant

Virat Kohli Still In Mumbai, Spotted With Anushka Sharma & Gaurav Kapoor Outside City Restaurant Photo : AFP

Ace India batter Virat Kohli was spotted with wife Anushka Sharma and sports presenter Gaurav Kapoor outside a Mumbai restaurant on Tuesday, thus confirming that he has not left for New York yet. Kohli, Anushka and Gaurav went out for dinner with former India pacer Zaheer Khan and his wife Sagarika Ghatge, besides a few other acquaintances.

Notable freelance photographer and digital creator Manav Manglani shared a video of Kohli, Zaheer, Anushka and Ghatge heading out of a restaurant after dinner on Tuesday. Kohli is supposed to leave for New York on Thursday, according to earlier reports.

Kohli didn't join the first batch of his teammates, who left for New York from Mumbai on June 25, reportedly due to some pending paperwork. Skipper Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, ace India pacer Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja were amongst the first batch of Indian cricketers who left for the US ahead of the T20 World Cup.

Watch the video here:

Kohli and vice-captain Hardik Pandya are the only cricketers left to join the squad, while all others have already reached New York. Head coach Rahul Dravid had left with the first batch of the cricketers on Saturday, a day before the IPL 2024 final.

Kohli was part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore team that reached the IPL 2024 playoffs. Although he was in stupendous form throughout the tournament, he couldn't inspire his team to move beyond the Eliminator, where they were beaten by the Rajasthan Royals.

If Kohli leaves Mumbai only on Thursday, it is highly unlikely that he will play a part in India's only warmup game against Bangladesh on June 1. He might opt out of the game with just around two days to recover from the long flight.

Meanwhile, reports suggest that Sachin Tendulkar, who is associated with a brand that is one of the key sponsors of ICC, will be in attendance at the Nassau County ground in the outskirts of New York, which is expected to be full on that particular morning when India play Pakistan on June 9.

Tendulkar, the greatest ever Indian cricketer to grace international cricket still tops the run-scoring charts in both Tests and ODIs. He has played six 50-over World Cups between 1992 and 2011.

Tendulkar has earlier been a 'Brand Ambassador' of ICC during the 2015 ODI World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. India though will begin their campaign against Ireland on June 5 in Nassau County.