The romance between Indian cricketers and Bollywood divas has dominated a particular section of news and fascinated a large section of the country's populace for decades now. And the relationship between superstar Virat Kohli and extremely versatile Anushka Sharma a.k.a 'Virushka' might be the most high-profile couple involving cricket and Bollywood to date. Let's take a closer look at how the two superstars' relationship blossomed over the years.
2013
It was on the sets of a television commercial for Clear, a shampoo brand, in 2013 that Virat and Anushka met for the first time. The first meeting sowed the seeds of a brewing friendship and as a result, the duo started being spotted together on a regular basis.
During a talk show In Depth With Graham Bensinger, Kohli revealed what was the first conversation like between him and Anushka. "Didn't you get a higher pair of heels?," Virat told Anushka on the sets of the commercial.
"Then she was like 'excuse me' and then I was like 'no, I am just joking'. My joke became such a weird moment. I was such a fool, to be honest but she was so confident," he added.
First public appearance
After months of speculation about their relationship, Virat and Anushka made their first public appearance together in an Indian Super League (ISL) match in Pune. And from thereon, their brewing love story started gathering momentum with both of them excelling in their respective profession and scaling new heights in their respective fields.
Virat's 'flying kiss' to Anushka
In 2014, Kohli's one gesture sent social media into overdrive. After becoming the quickest batter to score 6,000 runs in ODI cricket, the maverick willow-wielder used his blade (bat) and sent a 'flying kiss' to Anushka, who was in the stands witnessing Virat create history.
The unapologetic fans
When India lost the semi-final of the 2015 ODI World Cup, fans blamed Anushka for Virat's poor performance in the knockout game. But that was not the only instance when fans had targeted the Bollywood actor for Indian batter's poor performance. After India lost the T20 World Cup semi-final against West Indies in 2016, Anushka was once again trolled. Kohli, however, was never shy to publicly lambast the troll and defend Anushka.
"The stuff that happened after the World Cup semi-final, the way people reacted towards my personal life and Anushka in particular, was really disrespectful. I want to put this out in public because at the human level I was really hurt and wanted to express that for quite a long time," Kohli had said in a media interaction in 2015.
Breakup rumours
In 2016, rumours of a potential breakup between the two high-profile individuals gained momentum after Kohli unfollowed Anushka on social media and posted, deleted and then reposted a picture that was originally captioned as 'heartbroken'. The rumours were soon put to rest after 'Virushka' arrived at Yuvraj Singh's wedding together.
From thereon, there was only one question in fans' minds: when will Virat and Anushka get married? And the day arrived in 2017.
Destination wedding
After dating for more than four years, Virat and Anushka tied the knot on December 11, 2017, at a countryside resort in Italy in a private ceremony. Upon arriving in India after their marriage, the duo hosted a lavish reception party in Mumbai and Delhi which saw some of the most prominent names in cricket and Bollywood grace the ceremony.
It was during the Covid-19 pandemic that Virat and Anushka posted mushy pictures on their social media handles, keeping fans updated about their quarantine time together. In August 2020, the duo revealed that they were going to be parents.
‘And then we were three’
On January 11, 2021, Virat and Anushka were blessed with a baby girl. "We are thrilled to share with you that we have been blessed with a baby girl this afternoon. We thank you for all your love, prayers and good wishes. Anushka and the baby are both healthy and we are feeling beyond blessed to start the new chapter of our lives," Kohli wrote in a social media post at the time.
It is now close to a decade since the time Virat and Anushka first started dating. Their relationship evolved over the years and matured as one of the most beautiful love stories involving cricket and Bollywood.
