Kohli once blocked Maxwell on Instagram: Here is why

India great Virat Kohli had blocked Australia star Glenn Maxwell on Instagram despite the close bond between the duo.

The shocking revelation was made by the Australia all-rounder in his recently-released book titled ‘The Showman’.

The incident dates back to 2017, when Kohli was upset with certain behaviour of Maxwell during the Border-Gavasker Trophy.

“When I knew that I was going to RCB, Virat was the first guy to message me and welcome me to the team. When I turned up for the pre-IPL training camp, we obviously got chatting and spent a fair bit of time training together as you do. So I go to his social. media, follow him. Didn’t even think about it before that. Never really crossed my mind. I was like ‘I can’t find him,” Maxwell said on the LiSTNR Sport podcast.

“I’m sure he’s on social media somewhere so I didn’t think anything of it. Not really that maybe he wasn’t savvy with Instagram. Didn’t really understand why he wasn’t coming up and then someone mentioned that he might have blocked you. That is the only way you’re not able to find him. I was like surely not.”

He recalled the incident saying that it happened during Australia tour of India.

Maxwell had taken a jibe at Kohli. Tempers flared in both camps throughout the course of the series.

On the opening day of the third Test in Ranchi, Kohli hurt his shoulder while fielding, but two days later, when it was Australia’s turn to field, Maxwell made fun of Kohli.

Maxwell aped him as he clutched his right shoulder. Kohli had to miss the final Test match in Dharamsala because of the injury, and given the competitive nature of the four-Test series, it was inevitable that Kohli would have taken in kindly.

“Then I went and asked him ‘Have you blocked me on Instagram?’ And he was like, ‘Yeah probably. It was when you mocked me during that Test match. I think I got the sh*** and decided to block you. I was like ‘yeah, that’s fair enough’. So yeah, he ended up unblocking me, and we became great friends after that,” added Maxwell.

Having said that, Kohli and Maxwell have mellowed over time, and understandably so. Having gone through a range of similar experiences, the two superstars of their respective countries have bonded in more ways than one.

Ahead of IPL 2021, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru acquired the services of Maxwell for a whopping INR 14.25 crore to complete a dream team featuring AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli.

Maxwell pummeled over 500 runs that season, his efforts culminating in RCB reaching the Playoffs and finishing third.