"I shared information that was not confirmed" - AB de Villiers' fresh apology amid Virat Kohli's absence from IND vs ENG Test series

A day after former South African captain AB de Villiers retracted his earlier statement regarding Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma expecting their second child, the retired cricketer issued a fresh apology during his live show on YouTube. De Villiers admitted his earlier blunder and requested fans give the former Indian captain complete privacy.

Kohli missed the first two Tests of the ongoing five-Test series against England due to personal reasons, with several speculating that he and his wife Anushka are expecting their second child.

Contrary to fans' expectations, the 35-year-old continued to remain unavailable when the BCCI unveiled the squad for the final three Tests on Saturday, February 10.

The BCCI's statement on Saturday read:

"Virat Kohli will remain unavailable for selection for the remainder of the series due to personal reasons. The Board fully respects and supports Mr. Kohli’s decision."

Meanwhile, De Villiers acknowledged that he should not have shared unconfirmed information about Kohli and Anushka and hopes to see the veteran batter back in action soon.

He said on his YouTube channel:

"My friend Virat Kohli is still not available. I cry out to everybody 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."

He added:

"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. Like he always does."

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What was AB de Villiers' statement regarding Virat Kohli?

AB de Villiers. (Credits: Getty)

Addressing a question from a fan regarding Kohli's absence from the England series on his YouTube channel, De Villiers declared that Kohli's second child is on the way and that people shouldn't judge him for staying with his family at this time.

The former batter said:

"All I know is he is fine. He is spending a bit of time with his family, that is the reason he is missing the first two Test matches. I am not going to confirm anything else. I cannot wait to see him back. He is fine, he is doing well. Yes, his second child is on the way."

He continued:

"Yes, 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."

Meanwhile, India's Test series against England is currently tied at 1-1.