Virat Kohli’s white-bearded look sparks ODI retirement speculation
London: Former Team India skipper Virat Kohli has set social media abuzz after a recent picture showing him with a visibly white beard went viral. The photograph, taken with a man identified as Shash Patel in London, quickly caught the attention of fans, many of whom speculated whether the cricket star was hinting at an impending retirement from One Day Internationals.
Kohli’s appearance comes weeks after his presence at an event hosted by Yuvraj Singh on July 10, where he jokingly remarked about dyeing his beard every few days while discussing his Test retirement decision. Fans have expressed concern over his ODI future, citing his age and the early greying of his beard, something he shares with former captain MS Dhoni.
This is not the first time Kohli’s salt-and-pepper look has gone viral. In July 2023, a photo with wife Anushka Sharma also drew attention to his greying facial hair.
Kohli retired from T20Is last year after India’s World Cup triumph in the West Indies, and in May 2025, he stunned the cricket world by announcing his retirement from Test cricket after 14 years. His comeback to the field was expected this month, but the postponement of India’s Bangladesh tour has delayed his return.
The star batter is now expected to rejoin the Indian squad in October for a limited-overs tour of Australia, which will feature three ODIs and five T20Is.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
