Chhattisgarh boy receives calls from Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers after being assigned Rajat Patidar’s old phone number

Published - 10 Aug 2025, 13:55 IST | Updated - 10 Aug 2025, 14:07 IST

Indian cricketer Rajat Patidar recently found himself at the center of an unusual incident involving his old mobile number. It began as a routine telecom issue quickly escalated into a curious story that forced the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain to seek police intervention.

According to a report from NDTV, Patidar’s old mobile number had been inactive for over 90 days, prompting the telecom provider to deactivate it and subsequently reassign it to a new user. The number was purchased by a young man named Manish from Gariaband district in Chhattisgarh, who activated it using a Reliance Jio SIM card in late June.

Shortly after activation, Manish and his friend Khemraj noticed that Patidar’s photograph still appeared as the WhatsApp profile picture associated with the number. Soon, the phone began receiving calls from prominent figures in the cricket community, including Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, all attempting to reach Patidar.

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The situation took a more serious turn when Patidar himself contacted Manish, requesting him to return his old number. When Patidar revealed his identity, the young men humorously responded, ‘And we’re MS Dhoni’, refusing to believe that the caller was actually Patidar.

Patidar warned, ‘Okay, I’ll send the cops’, which rapidly escalated the situation. Within ten minutes, local police arrived at Manish’s residence to mediate the matter. Realising the seriousness of the situation, Manish and Khemraj cooperated fully and returned the SIM card to its rightful owner.

“I got to speak to Kohli because of a wrong number. My life’s goal is complete,” said Khemraj to the TV channel.

Patidar enjoyed a career-high in June earlier this year when he led RCB to their maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) title in his debut season as the team’s captain. Under his leadership, RCB defeated Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the final to claim the coveted trophy for the first time in 18 years.