"Virat Kohli Also Called": When Village Shop Became Cricket World's Hotline

NDTV

09-08-2025

Gariaband (Chhattisgarh):
Imagine you're sitting at a grocery shop in your village when your phone rings. On the other end, a voice says, "Hello, I'm Virat Kohli." Moments later, another call, "This is AB de Villiers." Then another, "I'm Rajat Patidar."
It might sound like the opening scene of a Bollywood comedy, but for residents of Madagaon in Devbhog, a village in Chhattisgarh's Gariaband district, this was a real-life cricketing twist.
Two unsuspecting friends, Manish BC and Khemraj, suddenly found themselves on the VIP contact list of India's cricketing elite.
It all began on June 28, when Manish bought a new Reliance Jio SIM from a local mobile shop. The process seemed routine, until WhatsApp loaded and displayed Rajat Patidar's photo as the profile picture. At first, the friends assumed it was a joke.
But then the calls started coming, not from neighbours or relatives, but from cricket stars and their associates. Someone claimed to be Virat Kohli, another said they were AB de Villiers.
Taking it all in good humour, Manish and Khemraj began introducing themselves as "Mahendra Singh Dhoni" whenever a call came through.
On July 15, Manish received yet another call from an unknown number. This time, a polite voice said, "Bhai, I'm Rajat Patidar. That number is mine, please return it."
Still in a teasing mood, the friends replied, "And we're MS Dhoni."
Patidar patiently explained that the number was important, connecting him with his coaches, friends, and the cricketing fraternity. When the jokes didn't stop, he calmly warned, "Okay, I'll send the police."
Within 10 minutes, the police were at their door. That's when the penny dropped - they had been speaking to the real Rajat Patidar all along.
The SIM was returned without hesitation.
For Khemraj, a die-hard Virat Kohli fan, the accidental calls were the highlight of his life.
"I got to speak to Kohli because of a wrong number. My life's goal is complete," he said, grinning.
The villagers joke about Madagaon being "on the cricket map," and Manish and Khemraj hope Patidar calls again not for his SIM this time, but to say thank you.
Telecom companies recycle numbers that remain inactive for over 90 days. Patidar's old number had been deactivated and reassigned to Manish, unknowingly turning a small grocery shop into a cricketing hotline.