Fan with Rajat Patidar’s SIM reveals conversations with Virat Kohli & AB de Villiers

Young fan Manish revealed the conversations he had with Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers through Rajat Patidar's old SIM. The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) captain's old number was reallocated.

As reported by NDTV, Manish had received calls from Kohli and De Villiers, who reached out to Patidar.

Manish and his friend Khemraj could not believe their luck when they received the calls. Khemraj revealed how Kohli asked them about using Patidar's number. He added that AB de Villiers spoke in English and it was beyond their understanding.

"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 was quoted as saying by NDTV Sports.

Deshbandhu Bisi, Manish's brother, expressed that the villagers' joy knew no bounds as the two boys spoke to Kohli and De Villiers. Although through a reallocation of the old number, Deshbanshu highlighted the fact that could talk to these cricketers, while people would dream of meeting them.

According to the report, Manish and his family consented, after which the SIM was given back to Rajat Patidar. Gariaband Deputy Superintendent of Police Neha Sinha stated that there was no legal issue as the case was a result of standard telecom procedures.

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Rajat Patidar was last seen playing in IPL 2025

Rajat Patidar injured his finger during the IPL 2025 season. Therefore, he has not played any competitive cricket post the tournament. He has been named vice-captain of the Central Zone for the Duleep Trophy 2025.

The domestic competition is set to kick-start on August 28. However, Patidar will participate only if he is deemed fit. He has played 68 first-class matches so far and has 4738 runs at an average of 43.07 with 13 hundreds.

In IPL 2025, he scored 312 runs from 15 matches at a strike-rate of 143.77. Rajat Patidar became the first captain to have led the franchise to an IPL trophy. They ended an 18-year wait and defeated Punjab Kings (PBKS) by six runs in the final.