Rajat Patidar's SIM mishap gives Chhattisgarh man direct line to Virat Kohli; fans want him to convey, 'Stop his ODI retirement'
Sim swap mishap
Two weeks ago, Manish, a farmer's son from Devbhog district in Chhattisgarh, purchased a SIM card from a local mobile shop in Madgaon. Unbeknownst to him, the freshly activated number once belonged to none other than Rajat Patidar. The cricketer's original SIM had been deactivated for reasons still unclear.
The moment Manish installed WhatsApp with help from his friend, the RCB captain's display picture appeared - a clue they dismissed as a quirky software glitch. But soon, calls began flooding in from numbers claiming to belong to Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, and Yash Dayal.
A guy from Chhattisgarh purchased a new sim which turned out to be Rajat Patidar's old number.- He received calls from Virat Kohli and AB De Villiers, but after Patidar informed the Police, the man returned the sim. pic.twitter.com/Hqrl2fcek5
Prank or reality?
Initially, Manish and his friend assumed they were the targets of an elaborate prank. Both being avid cricket fans, they had no idea Kohli or AB de Villiers were actually calling them. They answered with playful banter, jokingly addressing themselves as Rajat Patidar while unknowingly chatting with cricket's biggest names.
Rajat Patidar steps in
The lighthearted confusion reached its peak on July 15 when Rajat Patidar himself called the hijacked number, politely asking for his SIM back. Manish, still convinced it was a prank, responded cheekily: "I am Dhoni speaking."
That's when Rajat dropped the bombshell - he had filed a police complaint. Within 10 minutes, officers from the local station arrived, and the matter quickly shifted from amusing to serious. The SIM was handed back to its rightful owner with assistance from the MP Cyber Cell and Gariaband police.
Fans hope he could ask Virat Kohli to stay in ODI cricket
As the news went viral, fans flooded social media with memes, jokes, and hopeful pleas, wishing Manish had told Virat Kohli not to retire from ODI cricket - especially with the 2027 ODI World Cup in mind.
Kohli bhai ko kehna ODI se retirement na le . 😭
Kohli ko bolna tha na bhai retirement naa lene ko😭🙏
Ye Bhai Dream 11 pe team banayega toh 3 crore jeet jayega 😂😂 what the luck is this 🤣
Now this boy will get famous as he got call from Virat Kohli. Call record kiya to acha tha
How lucky is this guy 😅.He accidentally got the phone number belonging to Rajat Patidar and coincidentally he got a call from AB and Virat Kohli. Mother of all coincidences.😅😅 pic.twitter.com/45IqHjc244
Even though it began with a simple SIM swap, the two men now have a story they can tell for years - the day they accidentally took Rajat Patidar's number and ended up speaking to cricket legends.
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