[WATCH] Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma offer prayers in Rishikesh

Team India batter Virat Kohli and his actor-producer wife Anushka Sharma visited Rishikesh for a spiritual trip ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test series.

While the Men in Blue, led by Hardik Pandya, are currently taking on New Zealand in a home T20I series, Kohli has been rested for the matches.

On Tuesday, January 31, a video of him and Anushka offering prayers in Rishikesh went viral on social media platforms. The star couple visited the Swami Dayanand Giri Ashram and also offered food to the saints.

Earlier in the day, pictures of Kohli and Anushka’s visit to Rishikesh ashram were also widely shared on social media. Despite being on a religious trip, the duo obliged for pictures with some fans.

In November last year, the couple visited Neem Karoli Baba ashram in Uttarakhand after Kohli was given a break from the New Zealand tour following the T20 World Cup in Australia. Pictures and videos from that visit too went viral.

Kohli was part of the Indian team for the ODI series against New Zealand that was played ahead of the T20Is. While the Men in Blue won the three-match series by a 3-0 margin, Kohli had an underwhelming time with the bat, registering scores of eight, 11, and 36 in the three ODIs.

He will return to cricketing action with the four-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test series against Australia, which begins with the first Test at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium in Nagpur on February 9.

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What Team India’s head coach said about Kohli’s absence from T20Is

Kohli had a brilliant run in T20Is in 2022. He was the third-leading run-getter in the format last year, hammering 781 runs in 20 matches at an average of 55.78 and a strike rate of 138.23, with one hundred and eight fifties.

The 34-year-old was even named in the ICC Men’s T20I Team of 2022. However, he has not been part of India’s T20I squad following India’s exit from the World Cup at the semi-final stage.

Clearing the air around the former India captain’s absence, Team India head coach Rahul Dravid said ahead of the T20Is against New Zealand:

“There’s certain priority we need to give to certain white-ball tournaments at particular stages of time. With the amount to cricket we are playing - the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and the World Test Championship - there are certain white-ball tournaments that we have to prioritize.”

Kohli was the leading run-getter in the T20 World Cup in Australia, scoring 296 runs in six games at an average of 98.67 and a strike rate of 136.41.