Phone number mix-ups can be a nightmare for anyone, but when it happens to high-profile figures like Indian cricketers, the chaos is on another level. Ravichandran Ashwin recently shared a bizarre incident where a fraudster impersonated his Chennai Super Kings (CSK) teammate to obtain Virat Kohli’s number.

Virat Kohli, one of the biggest icons in world cricket, enjoys a fan base unmatched in the sport. He’s the only cricketer in the global top 10 list of most-followed athletes—a testament to the lengths people might go just to connect with him. Unfortunately, that admiration sometimes crosses the line.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin revealed that he received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number claiming to be New Zealand opener Devon Conway, his CSK colleague. Initially, Ashwin had no reason to doubt the sender. But suspicion crept in when the person started requesting Kohli’s number, offering nothing in return except a dubious backstory.

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To test the situation, Ravichandran Ashwin shared a non-functional number for Kohli. Playing along, he casually mentioned a bat he had supposedly given to Conway. The reply—“the bat was good”—was the giveaway. In reality, Ashwin had never given Conway any bat, confirming the impersonation attempt.

Ashwin acted quickly, blocking the number and verifying through CSK’s official communication channels that it was indeed a fake profile. The incident served as a reminder of how vulnerable even seasoned cricketers can be to digital scams.’

Interestingly, this wasn’t the only strange phone-number episode involving Indian players. Rajat Patidar once found himself at the centre of an unintentional mix-up. After changing his number, his old SIM card was reassigned to a man in Chhattisgarh, who suddenly began receiving calls from none other than Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, both of whom had the number saved from their RCB days.

Imagine being an unsuspecting man answering calls from two cricketing greats, only to realise they were meant for someone else entirely. Once Patidar became aware of the situation, he contacted the police, and the SIM was promptly returned.

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From pranksters to impersonators, these incidents show that for cricket stars, guarding personal information is just as important as guarding the stumps. Whether it’s Ashwin spotting a fake Conway or Patidar retrieving a number, one thing’s clear—off the field, the game can be just as unpredictable.