Power Couple Virat Kohli, Anushka Sharma Team Up for Pickleball Break, Send RCB Social Media on Fire
As far as power couples go, the lovely pair of cricket legend Virat Kohli and popular actress Anushka Sharma is definitely right up. In fact, here in Asia, they’re probably among the most well-known and well-loved.
So, it had to feel good for picklers in Asia—particularly in India—to see Kohli and Sharma not just play pickleball, but also team up for a match.
Yes, this high-profile couple actually took some time off their busy schedules to play the world’s fastest-growing sport!
This event, which blew up on social media, happened on Wednesday as the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) took a short, well-deserved break just days before the Indian Premier League Playoffs (IPL). The fun-filled, light-hearted matches were held after the Challengers’ practice in Bengaluru was unfortunately called off due to rain.
Fortunately, there was time and a court to play some pickleball indoors—and that is exactly what the RCB squad did.
RCB posted photos of this pickleball break on its official Instagram page, and the post had already garnered over 1.6 million likes in five short hours. It will likely breach 2 million likes and beyond given Kohli and Sharma’s collective star power.
The team’s post showed several players getting into the action, but the undisputed stars were Kohli and Sharma, who were pictured giving each other a high five—presumably a sign that they were winning or had just completed a point.
RCB players Phil Salt, Romario Shepherd, and Suyash Prabhudessai were also seen playing pickleball during the team’s respite from practice. The team’s highly respected mentor and batting coach Dinesh Karthik was also pictured getting into the action with his wife, squash champion Dipika Pallikal, as his playing partner.
The now-viral RCB pickleball break is yet another proof that pickleball is for everyone—even for world-class athletes, retired sportsmen, and well-loved celebrities. It is also further proof that the sport is touching a nerve, so much so that it being played by high-profile individuals has become newsworthy to say the least.
