Dialling destiny: RCB captain Rajat Patidar's old SIM lands with Chhattisgarh youth; answers calls from Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers
RAIPUR: A technical glitch resulted in international cricketer
Rajat Patidar
's mobile number being allotted to a youth in Gariaband district, leading to a flurry of unexpected calls from cricket stars including
Virat Kohli
, Yash Dayal, and
AB de Villiers
.
The incident came to light when Manish Bisi, 21, a resident of Madagaon village, began receiving calls from the players. The number, inactive for nearly six months, was re-allotted to Manish in a routine process, said Gariaband SP Nikhil Rakhecha.
'It was a WhatsApp number and had probably not been in use for the last six months. As per company rules, a number that remains unused for over six months is allotted to other customers, which might have led to the allotment to the Devbhog youth.
We have now returned the number to cricketer Rajat Patidar,' the SP said.
Manish, a self-proclaimed Virat Kohli fan, bought the new SIM from a Devbhog mobile shop in late June.
A week later, his friend Khemraj helped him set up WhatsApp, where the profile picture automatically displayed Patidar's photo — which they initially thought was a glitch.
Soon, calls started pouring in from numbers claiming to be Kohli, AB de Villiers, and other players, all addressing him as 'Rajat.'
Thinking it was a prank, the youths chatted with the callers for about 15 days.
The matter escalated when Patidar, unable to access his old number, contacted the Madhya Pradesh Cyber Cell, which in turn reached out to Gariaband police. A police team visited the village and recovered the SIM, which has since been sent to Patidar.
The youths, both avid cricket fans, called the episode unforgettable and expressed hope that Patidar would meet them someday.
Patidar plays for Madhya Pradesh in domestic cricket and captains Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL.
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