Virat Kohli said ‘my beard’s gone grey’, hid a secret from Surya: More unheard stories from India’s Barbados-Delhi party.

The 15-hour-long flight from Barbados to Delhi was an emotional roller-coaster for everyone inside. June 29, 2024: The day that will forever be etched in the annals of Indian cricket. The Men in Blue finally ended a barren run of 11 years and won the T20 World Cup for only the second time by defeating South Africa by seven runs in a thrilling final. It was a moment the entire cricket-crazy nation of India had been waiting for over a decade. They had come agonisingly close on numerous occasions – reaching the knockouts of almost every ICC tournament between 2014 and 2023 – last year’s World Cup ending with India’s most painful World Cup exit. But as the saying goes, all’s well that ends well. Hence, the emotional scenes that followed India’s T20 World Cup win was inevitable. The sight of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Hardik Pandya shedding tears of joy was one of the most fulfilling visuals in the history of Indian cricket. These players had endured countless heartbreaks in the previous decade, so for life to have come full circle must have been one of the most endearing and satisfactory experiences of their careers. The hangover and celebrations stemming from India’s historic win spilled into their flight from Barbados to Delhi. As Hurricane Beryl left the entire Indian contingent stranded in West Indies for a few days – players, BCCI officials and journalists alike – board secretary Jay Shah organised a charter-plane to bring the players back home. However, after understanding the plight of the journalists stuck there, after a discussion with captain Rohit Sharma, Shah got them on board too. Previous details of the flight revealed include how the pilot reserved a special compliment for Rahul Dravid, or how The Wall gave up his business-class seat to go sleep in economy, or how Rohit jokingly scolded a player. However, did you know, that during the flight, Virat Kohli spoke about how he has changed and even kept a secret from Suryakumar Yadav? Renowned sports journalist Vimal Kumar, an independent reporter, who travelled back with the team, shared some never-before-heard stories that took place during India’s ‘party’ inside the aircraft from Barbados to Delhi. “The entire flight back was like a party. When I was entering the flight, Rohit said jokingly ‘don’t get started with your camera’. Then I heard a voice from behind ‘Yes, he goes everywhere with his camera’. I turned around and saw it was Virat Kohli. Kohli was in black. Both openers started teasing me, so Virat said ‘We are openers; we will hit from the first ball’. Then Virat and I shared a joke which I can’t disclose since it is personal. That was related to a third person whom I can’t name. So we all started laughing. Surya was behind; when he came asking what the joke is about, I and Virat kept it as a secret from him,” he shared on the ‘Two Sloggers’ podcast.