Virat Kohli's 'Have You Eaten' gesture to crowd goes viral

India batting great Virat Kohli’s return to Ranji Trophy after 13 years attracted a large attendance on Thursday at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium.

The Delhi boy, averaged 23.75 in nine innings during a disappointing Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.

In an effort to get back into shape and follow the new regulations set forth by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which require all players to play domestic cricket, Virat Kohli made himself available for his home club Delhi to compete in the Ranji Trophy.

A large crowd flocked to Delhi’s stadium to witness Virat Kohli play in India’s top domestic competition after 13 years.

Virat Kohli played his last Ranji Trophy match against Uttar Pradesh in Ghaziabad during the 2012–13 season. In the current Ranji Trophy, he will play with other elite players including Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Indian captain Rohit Sharma.

Due to a neck strain, Virat Kohli was unable to play in Delhi’s encounter against Saurashtra; however, he landed in Delhi on Monday night in time for the match against Railways.

When Virat Kohli returned to the competition, spectators flocked in droves to watch the star player play in front of them, creating an atmosphere akin to a stampede. Indian media reports claim that as excited spectators started shoving one another, disorder broke out at the stadium’s gates.

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However, by making many motions to the audience, the former Indian captain made sure that the atmosphere in the stadium remained high.

One such move, in which Kohli challenged two groups of people in the audience to see who could shout the loudest, went viral on social media. Fielding in the slip cordon, he initially held out his hand to the audience to his right. He urged them to halt as the audience erupted into a shout.

Virat Kohlii then raised his palms to the opposite section of the stadium, asking them to shout. Finally, he proclaimed the people on his right the victors by giving them the thumbs up.

The top Indian batsman then turned to face the fans to his left, indicating that they were rather low on energy with a “have you eaten” motion.