Virat Kohli makes first appearance since birth of son Akaay ahead of RCB’s IPL 2024 season opener: ‘But white beard?’

Kohli is expected to join the Royal Challengers Bangalore training camp soon for the upcoming season of Indian Premier League where his team will clash against Chennai Super Kings in the opener on March 22.

In a video uploaded by Viral Bhayani, some fans started pointing out some white hairs in his beard.

The 35-year-old, who recently became a father for the second time, opted out of the five-match series due to personal reasons. He was in London for the past few weeks with his wife Anushka Sharma and daughter Vamika. Meanwhile, he announced the news of his newborn son on February 20.

“With abundant happiness and our hearts full of love. we are pleased to inform everyone that on 15th February, we welcomed our baby boy Akaay/अकाय & Vamika’s little brother into this world! We seek your blessings and good wishes in this beautiful time in our lives. We request you to kindly respect our privacy at this time. Love & Gratitude. Virat & Anushka,” Kohli posted a note.

The batting star was initially named in India’s squad for the first two Tests but he withdrew his name days before the opening match and decided to give a miss to the entire series.

Kohli last played for India in January against Afghanistan in the T20I series. Meanwhile, he is expected to join RCB’s annual ‘Unbox’ promotional event which is scheduled for March 19 in Bengaluru.

The upcoming season of IPL will be extremely crucial for Kohli in terms of sealing his place in the T20 World Cup squad which will be played days after the cash-rich league. According to a report in the Telegraph, Kohli’s place in the T20 WC has not been finalised as the selectors have having some second thoughts about retaining Kohli in the T20I scheme of things.