The former South African cricketer AB de Villiers apologised to Indian cricketer Virat Kohli and his wife Anushka Sharma for sharing 'not confirmed' comments on the Indian cricketer's indefinite break last week.
The legendary retired batter shocked the cricket world by saying Kohli and his wife are expecting their second child on his YouTube video on February 4 and now asked fans to respect Kohli's decision to remain private. AB also added that his friend will soon return to action in his latest video ahead of the SA20 final on Saturday.
"My friend Virat Kohli is still not available," de Villiers said. "I cry out to everyone to give him the privacy that he deserves. Family comes first. No one knows what exactly is going on. I am asking all of us to respect that. I did bit of a blunder in my previous show and I apologise to the Kohli family for that.
"Just not nice. I shared information that was not confirmed at all so. I am begging everyone out there to respect him and his family and his private time. Hopefully, we will see Virat back, happy and scoring runs as he always does."
Both Virat and Anushka have not confirmed or denied the rumours regarding their second child while the BCCI asked fans not to speculate on the cricketer's break. Virat was part of the initial Indian squad announced for the first two Test matches against England but later pulled out just three days before the opening game in Hyderabad citing a personal reason.
But de Villiers, who played with Kohli at the Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL for 11 years, confirmed the rumours of a child when one fan asked about a reason behind the Indian cricketer's break from the England series last week.
"Yes, his second child is on the way," AB de Villiers said in his YouTube video on February 4. "It's family time and things are important to him. If you are not true and genuine to yourself, you lose track of what you are here for. I think most people's priority is family. You can't judge Virat for that. Yes, we miss him. But he has made absolutely the right decision."
