Virat Kohli made his return to India on Tuesday, January 6, marking the start of his preparations for a packed cricketing calendar in the New Year. The former India captain was spotted at Mumbai airport, where he happily paused to click selfies with fans, instantly sending social media into a frenzy. Kohli arrived in style, wearing a black cardigan embroidered with a red heart and the letter ‘A’, paired with a blue T-shirt and light blue jeans.
The understated yet meaningful detail did not go unnoticed. Fans were quick to decode the symbol as a heartfelt tribute to his wife, Anushka Sharma. The moment once again highlighted Kohli’s openness about family and the calm, grounded persona he has embraced off the field in recent years. Relaxed and smiling, Kohli appeared at ease amid the paparazzi attention. He and Anushka had welcomed the New Year in Dubai, where the couple were seen interacting warmly with restaurant staff.
On January 1, Kohli also shared a glimpse of their celebrations on Instagram, posting a picture of the couple with painted faces and captioning it, “Stepping into 2026 with the light of my life.” On the cricketing front, Kohli has hit the ground running.
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The batting icon recently made a much-talked-about return to the Vijay Hazare Trophy, featuring in the List A tournament for the first time in 15 years. He looked in sublime touch, smashing a commanding 131 before backing it up with a fluent 77 in his next outing. During this purple patch, Kohli crossed the 16,000-run mark in List A cricket, becoming the fastest player to achieve the milestone and surpassing Sachin Tendulkar’s long-standing record.
Virat Kohli can put all the Bollywood actors in shame 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Umuj8ZCYW0
— Vedant (@KohliXVedant) January 7, 2026
His domestic form follows an impressive ODI series against South Africa, where Kohli registered two centuries and a fifty to play a key role in India’s 2–1 series win. With the Indian squad set to assemble in Vadodara on January 8 ahead of the ODI series against New Zealand, Kohli arrived in Mumbai a day earlier than scheduled.
Although he was expected to play another Vijay Hazare Trophy match for Delhi on January 6 in Alur near Bengaluru, Kohli opted to skip the fixture, likely to manage workload ahead of international duties.
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Shubman Gill will lead India in the three-match ODI series, marking his return to the national side after missing out on the T20 World Cup squad earlier this year. Meanwhile, former captain Rohit Sharma was also seen training in Mumbai, gearing up for the New Zealand series after featuring in two Vijay Hazare Trophy matches in Jaipur last month.
