Team India missed out on their superior batter Virat Kohli throughout the entire India vs England series as he went to take care of his family. Since he and his wife Anushka Sharma were expecting their second child, Kohli temporarily stepped away from cricket and looked after his wife. He made his return in the 2024 season of the IPL with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru during the season-opening match against the Chennai Super Kings. RCB secures their first match win of the season at home against the Punjab Kings. After the match, Kohli opened up on his extended break from cricket.

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Virat Kohli felt surreal when no one recognized them during his break from cricket

After the Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Punjab Kings IPL 2024 match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Virat Kohli touched upon his break from cricket, which the family spent outside India. It was the period when the Kohli's welcomed their second child, a baby boy whom they named Akaay. Kohli was unavailable for the entire India vs England series, which the home team won 4-1. 

"We were not in the country. We were at a place where people were not recognising us. Just time together as a family, just to feel normal for two months. For me, for us as a family, it was a surreal experience.

"Of course, having two kids, things become totally different from a family perspective. So just the ability to be together, the connections that you make with your older child, it's amazing," Kohli revealed at the post-match presentation ceremony.

"Just the place that we were in, I was telling the guys that when we came back, the voices back home felt that much louder," he said. "I couldn't look up because I was just not used to being called my name for two months. And then immediately you hear these loud noises and then you're back in it all again.

"But it was beautiful. It's an amazing experience to just be another person on the road and not be recognised and just carry on about life that normally people would on a daily basis," he added.

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Further at the media scrum, Kohli revealed that he enjoyed not being treated like a celebrity, which was a reason why he and his family went overseas to spend time together. However, he acknowledges the fans' fervour and also appreciates the fandom in Bengaluru.

Virat Kohli and RCB team secured their win of the season after trouncing the Punjab Kings. Their next match-up will be a home match against the Kolkata Knight Riders on March 29th, 2024.