Media runs riot over Virat Kohli - Anushka Sharma engagement speculation

What’s the story?

The India media went into overdrive today as speculation surrounding the engagement of Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma reached a new high.

News18, while quoting its sister channel Pradesh 18, stated that the couple are to be engaged on New Year’s day. This sparked a chain reaction and soon enough, the news spread like wildfire.

ZeeNews was at it next – “Virat Kohli, Anushka Sharma likely to get engaged on January 1”.

Mumbai Mirror joined the bandwagon and claimed that – “the couple was joining Anushka's parents in Tehri. Apparently, Kohli's mother is also expected to join them to celebrate New Year with them.”

Meanwhile, India Today went a step further and carried a headline that said, “Virat-Anushka secretly engaged!”

In case you didn’t know...

With the Indian cricket team enjoying a short break, Kohli was seen holidaying in the state along with Anushka and her family. The duo, who have been in a relationship for a while, spent Christmas together in the northern state and were spotted together on Saturday at the Jolly Grant airport in Dehradun.

This was the first time that Kohli is visiting the state after he was announced as the brand ambassador of Uttarakhand by the state’s tourism department earlier this year.

Both Kohli and Anushka have been spotted together several times in the recent past but have chosen to remain silent about their relationship. Irrespective of the venue, the Bollywood actress can be seen in the stands on several occasions whenever the Indian cricket Team plays.

The heart of the matter

What really fueled the speculation was that Amitabh Bachchan arrived at the Dehradun airport earlier today accompanied by his wife Jaya Bachchan and Anil Ambani. This came on the back of recent articles that surfaced in local media which stated that the couple was staying at Hotel Ananda in Narendra Nagar, Uttarakhand.

A local daily even reported that the couple was to play host to the Big-B and his family.

Then there were messages on social media posted by Anushka herself and a fan that fueled the fire.

What's next?

While speculation continued to run riot through the course of the evening today, a spokesperson for the actress told India Today that these rumours are baseless. So, for now, we continue to wait for official word on the matter.

Sportskeeda’s take

The couple has hogged the limelight for over three years now. Fans love the batting maestro in action and with his lady love tow, the couple is the paparazzi’s dream. Of late though, the pair has avoided being pictured together and questions over their future together surfaced.

If these rumours from today are to turn true, it will mark the culmination of a courtship that has captivated the imagination of an entire nation. And much like the MAK Pataudi-Sharmila Tagore union, the Virat Kohli-Anushka Sharma engagement would then be the partnership that would dazzle the country for years to come.