BGT: Privacy breach at Melbourne airport upsets Virat Kohli, confronts local journalist

Virat Kohli was left upset after an Australian journalist clicked his and his family’s photo upon his arrival at the Melbourne airport ahead of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG. Kohli confronted the female journalist, who breached his privacy and recorded his arrival in the city with his wife and kids, irking the Indian batting great.

Per a video doing rounds on social media, Kohli wasn’t happy with the journalist snapping him without his consent; Virat approached her and requested to revisit what she clicked, later asking her to delete it. That, however, led to a little argument.

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Virat also requested his country’s media not to click him (and his family) while boarding the flight to Australia.

"With my kids, I need some privacy. You can't film without asking me," Virat said at the MCG airport, as quoted by India Today.

Virat and Bumrah travel separately

Unlike travelling with the BGT-bound Test squad together, Virat and ace seamer Jasprit Bumrah have been travelling separately with their families within cities Down Under.

While Kohli and Bumrah travelled on a chartered flight from Adelaide to Brisbane - the venues for the second and third Tests, respectively, Kohli did not travel with the rest of the squad from Brisbane to Melbourne either, re-linking with them separately.

Virat’s form has kept a billion fans back home on their toes. The batting genius has been out of touch since the home New Zealand series, where he scored 91 runs from six outings.

Against Australia, Virat got out cheaply in the first innings at the Optus stadium before notching up a brilliant hundred in the second, guiding India home in the series opener. His scores since that outing read 7, 11 and 3, keeping everyone worried about his lean patch.

However,his record at the G speaks a lot aboutVirat run at the ground. Hecould fancy his chances of regaining some form, trying to put India ahead in the WTC Final 2025 race. Kohli can ensure that by avoiding flirting the fifth stump line, which happened to get the better of him mostly.

Meanwhile, for India to confirm direct qualification, they must win the remaining two matches against Australia, besides hoping for South Africa to beat Pakistan to avoid any last-minute hiccups.

Should India win at the MCG and the SCG, they will complete a three-peat Down Under, becoming the first team to win three straight Test series in Australia.

(With inputs from agencies)