Virat Kohli (Photo by Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images)

NEW DELHI: Indian cricket fans were in for a shock on Tuesday morning when the Sydney Sixers, a three-time Big Bash League (BBL) champion, announced that Virat Kohli had officially signed for the next two seasons.
The news spread like wildfire, sparking excitement and debate across social media. However, it didn’t take long for the Australian franchise to clear the air — this was nothing more than an April Fool’s prank.
“April Fools,” the Sydney Sixers later posted on X (formerly Twitter), confirming that Kohli had not, in fact, joined the BBL.
Given Kohli’s ongoing commitment to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the IPL, the chances of him playing in Australia’s T20 league never crossed anyone’s mind.
Currently, Kohli is focused on IPL 2025, where he continues to dominate the record books.
In RCB’s match against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Kohli became the highest run-scorer against CSK in IPL history, surpassing Shikhar Dhawan.
Though he managed only 31 runs off 30 balls, the milestone reaffirmed his status as one of the greatest batters in IPL history.
In the IPL 2025 opener between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and RCB, Kohli was honoured with the prestigious “IPL 18” memento by BCCI president Roger Binny.
The recognition highlighted his incredible journey in the tournament, where he remains the leading run-scorer with 8,094 runs in 254 matches, including eight centuries and 56 half-centuries.

Despite a legendary 2016 season where he scored 973 runs, an IPL title still eludes him.
The opening ceremony also saw Kohli sharing a fun moment with Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, dancing to “Jhoome Jo Pathaan” before Rinku Singh joined SRK for another lively performance.
Following India’s triumph in the T20 World Cup, Kohli bid farewell to international T20 cricket, choosing to focus on ODIs, Tests, and franchise cricket.