Chhattisgarh villager's 'khulja SIM SIM' tryst begets calls from legends like Kohli, de Villiers

The Hindu

2 days ago

A man in nondescript Madagaon village in Chhattisgarh's Gariaband district is on seventh heaven after receiving calls from cricket legends Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, all thanks to a SIM card once used by India cricketer Rajat Patidar coming alive some time after it was reactivated by the service provider.
Twenty-something Manish Bisi, and his friend Khemraj, at first thought these were prank calls, thanks to the sheer improbability of the chain of events, but reality dawned when Patidar himself was at the other end.
The tryst with instant fame began on June 28 when Manish, son of farmer Gajendra Bisi, purchased a new Jio SIM from a mobile shop in Deobhog, around 8 kilometres from his village.
When Khemraj helped set up WhatsApp on the new SIM, the display picture was of Patidar, a rising star who captained Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) team in the IPL 2025 season.
While the duo initially dismissed it as a glitch, they were soon stunned by calls from Kohli, de Villiers and Yash Dayal, though the two veered towards being realistic by believing these were all part of some elaborate prank being played by friends.
In fact, the duo even played along, Khemraj claimed.
The story turned on its head when, on July 15, Patidar himself called up with a fervent "brother, please return my SIM". Manish and Khemraj still believed it was a prank before realising the seriousness in Patidar's tone when he spoke about sending police to solve the matter.
A police team arrived some minutes later, putting a lid on any assumptions that it was a prank.
Gariaband Deputy Superintendent of Police Neha Sinha said the SIM had been deactivated as per telecom policy after 90 days of inactivity and was reassigned to a new customer, which in this case happened to be Manish.
"Manish was actually getting calls from cricketers who were in contact with Rajat Patidar. Patidar informed the Madhya Pradesh Cyber Cell that his number had been allotted to someone else and requested to have it back," she said.
The MP Cyber Cell contacted Gariaband police, who spoke with Manish and his family and with their consent, the SIM was recently returned to Patidar, the Deputy SP informed.
"There was no legal issue or fault on anyone's part. This was simply a result of standard telecom procedures," Sinha added.
For Manish, Khemraj, and their families, meanwhile, the experience has been like "something out of a film".
Khemraj, an ardent Kohli fan, excitedly said, "I never imagined I would speak to Virat Kohli one day, and that too from our village. When AB de Villiers called, he spoke in English. We couldn't understand a word, but we were so thrilled." "When Manish used to get calls, he would hand over the phone to me. The callers who identified themselves as Virat Kohli and Yash Dayal asked us why we were using Patidar's number. We explained to them we had bought a new SIM and this is our number," Khemraj added.
The villagers are overjoyed because most people here are RCB fans and talking to legends like Kohli and de Villiers is something that cannot be described and even now seems like a dream, said Manish's brother Deshbandhu Bisi.
"Even if it was all due to a mix-up, these conversations happened out of sheer luck. People just dream of seeing them, we got to speak to them," Deshbandhu gushed.