Fact Check: Did Virat Kohli Get Called Out As Chokli By Fans In Sri Lanka?

A video of Virat Kohli is being circulated on social media with a claim that a troll teased him with ‘Chokli’ chants in Sri Lanka. However, several users on social media pointed out that the video circulating online is fake and morphed.

Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli’s Death Stare To Troll Over ‘Chokli’ Chant In Sri Lanka Goes Viral (Source:X)

Virat Kohli will make a return to cricket when India take on Sri Lanka in the first ODI in Colombo. Kohli was on a break since the emphatic T20 World Cup win after which he announced his retirement from T20Is. Kohli was not certain to play the series, however, with Champions Trophy lined up and this being Gautam Gambhir’s first series as coach, Kohli and senior guys were asked to make themselves available.

Meanwhile, several X users shared a video claiming that Kohli was called ‘chokli’ in front of his teammates by a troll in Sri Lanka. In the viral video, Kohli was shadow-practicing in a room with his teammates when someone poked fun at him. The chokli chants caught Virat’s attention and he gave a fierce look to the troll. Kohli didn’t look pleased in the video before he continued with his practice. The clip spread like wildfire on social media but looked dubious.

After a while, the same video circulated on social media but the ‘chokli’ chants were not there in the video. Social media users pointed out that the previous video was fake and morphed. In the new video, Kohli could be heard saying ‘not here’. It could be a possibility that a fan asked Kohli for an autograph. Times Now cannot verify which of the viral video is real and which one is fake.

Meanwhile, Kohli has a great record against Sri Lanka in 50-over format. He is only behind Sachin Tendulkar in the list of most runs against the team. He has scored 2594 runs in 53 ODIs against Sri Lanka, including 10 centuries and 12 fifties.

Meanwhile, the India squad for the ODI series saw senior guys return to the squad. The likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav and Harshit Rana were picked for the ODIs. The return of big guns meant that players like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh and Suryakumar Yadav, who were hoping for a run in the ODIs as well, were left out of the squad.

ODI Squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Ꮪhubman Gill (VC), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Harshit Rana