The batting superstar Virat Kohli faced some unwelcome trolling during his first training session in Colombo ahead of the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka. While Kohli was engaged in shadow practice in the dressing room along with his teammates, chants of “Chokli, Chokli” came from the background. Kohli visibly turned his head toward where the chants came from.
One could not verify the authenticity of the video or the chants doing rounds on social media. The term “Chokli” is a derogatory mash-up of Virat Kohli’s name and the word “Choker”, used by trolls to troll the batter whenever he suffers from a rare failure at the crease.
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Virat Kohli is in Sri Lanka for the ODI series starting August 2. He along with Rohit Sharma was named in the 15-man squad for the series, which will be the first ODI assignment for new head coach Gautam Gambhir. Kohli and Rohit will synergize well with Gambhir as India prepares itself for the Champions Trophy.
Someone called Virat Kohli a chokli in front of him in the dressing room of Colombo ground in Sri Lanka, after which Virat got angry.😭😭
No way now Lankan fan’s also owning Virat Kohli 🙏😹😹😹 pic.twitter.com/KTOqVjGSQM
— hitman_marathi_fanbase (@myselfHitman) July 31, 2024
Kohli has recently silenced all those critics during the T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies. He played a match-winning performance with a 76 off 59 balls against South Africa in the final. On a day when India’s other big guns—Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, and Suryakumar Yadav—faltered for runs, Kohli stepped up to shine on the biggest stage, helping India post a competitive total of 176.
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This became a winning score, and such brilliant efforts earned Kohli the Player of the Match award for his contributions. The victory ended India’s 11-year-long wait for an ICC trophy in men’s cricket. India now heads into the ODI series, buoyed by a clean sweep in the T20I series against Sri Lanka.
The Suryakumar Yadav-Gautam Gambhir combination has already shown much promise in their very first assignment, and there is so much the young team has taken away from this series. The upcoming ODI series will provide them with yet another opportunity at building on the momentum and continuing their preparation for the upcoming challenges.
