Virat Kohli Gets Angry At ‘Chokli’ Chants Ahead of First ODI Vs Sri Lanka
New Delhi: Star India batter Virat Kohli was seen very upset when a fan referred him as ‘ Chokli’ as he was doing shadow practicing with in a room with his fellow teammates. Kohli was going through his motions when a fan began chanting “Chokli-Chokli,” immediately catching Kohli’s attention. His head snapped almost instantaneously towards the source of the chant, and judging by the look in his eyes, Virat was visibly displeased.
Someone called Virat Kohli a chokli in front of him in the dressing room of Colombo ground in Sri Lanka, after which Virat got angry.
No way now Lankan fan’s also owning Virat Kohli pic.twitter.com/ru4KbRUfBX
— ⁴⁵ (@rushiii_12) July 31, 2024
‘Chokli’ is slang which gets used towards Kohli by trolls on social media. the slang is a mix of Virat’s surname Kohli and ‘choking’, as the trolls believes that Kohli fails to deliver in important, knockout games for India. The term first emerged after India’s elimination from the 2019 World Cup, where Kohli was dismissed for 1. This was the third time Kohli was dismissed for 1 in an ICC knockout game; he also fell for the same score in the 2015 World Cup semifinal against Australia and the 2017 Champions Trophy final against Pakistan.
Hence, when the term was fired at him, he did not take it kindly and responded saying: ‘Not here’.
Kohli arrived in Sri Lanka on Monday morning while his and rest of the ODI arrivals’ first practice session got cancelled due to rain in Colombo on Monday. The former India skipper participated in his first net session since the T20 World Cup triumph, on Tuesday.
With the 2025 Champions Trophy just seven months away and Kohli a sure-shot pick for the tournament, the star India batter is expected to pull out all the stops and come out all guns blazing in pursuit of another ICC trophy. What better way to get into the ODI groove than facing a team against whom he has a stellar record. Kohli has a history of dominating the Sri Lankan attack—the same team against which he made his India debut back in 2008. His record of 2595 runs from 25 ODIs against them, averaging 63.26 with 10 centuries, stands as a testament to his prowess.
Moreover, Kohli’s numbers at Colombo’s R Premadasa Stadium are even more impressive. In 11 ODIs at the venue, he has amassed 644 runs, including four centuries, boasting an astonishing average of 107.3. In one of his most recent outings at this stadium—the 2023 Asia Cup match against Pakistan—Kohli pummeled an unbeaten 122, leading India to a commanding victory over their arch-rivals by 228 runs.