R Ashwin falls victim to Virat Kohli number scam — Here’s what happened

In a strange twist of cricket and mistaken identities, two separate incidents have shown just how tricky phone numbers can be for players and fans alike. Recently in Chhattisgarh, a man bought a new SIM card only to discover it was once used by Royal Challengers Bengaluru batter Rajat Patidar. Soon, the phone started buzzing with calls from none other than Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. Once Patidar got wind of the situation, he informed the police, and the man eventually returned the SIM. Speaking about the story on his YouTube channel, former India off-spinner R Ashwin shared a similar experience of his own. He said he recently received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number claiming to be New Zealand and Chennai Super Kings batter Devon Conway. At first, Ashwin believed it might be genuine. But when the person asked him for Virat Kohli’s number, doubts began to creep in. To test the situation, Ashwin shared a non-active number for Kohli. He then casually asked about a bat he had supposedly given to Conway. The reply came back that the bat was “good”, which confirmed Ashwin’s suspicion — because in reality, he had never given Conway any bat at all. Ashwin quickly blocked the number and checked through Chennai Super Kings’ communication channels, only to confirm it was a fake account. Both incidents show how easily impersonation can happen and how even cricketers need to be cautious about who they are really speaking to on the other end of the line.