On Wednesday, October 7, 2026, Virat Kohli’s representative firmly denied that the Indian cricket player had been paid Rs 5 crore to visit Premanand Maharaj’s ashram in Vrindavan.
The denial was a direct reaction to a statement made by the president of the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Sangharsh Nyas, Dinesh Sharma, also known as Falahari Maharaj. In January 2023, Kohli and his spouse Anushka Sharma visited Premanand Maharaj at the Vrindavan ashram for the first time in recorded history.
Virat Kohli’s spokesperson issued a firm denial
We would like to unequivocally declare that the statements Falahari Maharaj Dinesh Sharma made about Mr. Virat Kohli are wholly untrue, unfounded, and factually incorrect. According to the statement, which India Today cited, “Mr. Virat Kohli visits Premanand Maharaj Ji purely out of his deep faith and reverence for Maharaj Ji.”
On October 4, 2026, Falahari Maharaj Dinesh Sharma, president of the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Sangharsh Nyas, allegedly wrote to Yogi Adityanath, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, outlining the Rs 5 crore accusation. The letter, which focuses on the January 2023 trip, claims that a private company in Rajasthan and a property-builder lobby arranged the funds to enable Kohli’s ashram visit.
Every component of the accusation was denied by Kohli’s team. The question of whether the letter to the Chief Minister contained any supporting documentation or evidence for the Rs 5 crore figure is still open, and no supporting information has been made public.
Aside from the controversy, Kohli has been focusing on the 50-over format since leaving Test and T20I cricket. He played in the three-match ODI series between India and the West Indies, scoring 139 not out in Thiruvananthapuram, 29 in the second game, and a duck in the third, totalling 168 runs.
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He surpassed 15,000 ODI runs with that undefeated century in Thiruvananthapuram, a milestone previously only attained by Sachin Tendulkar among all batters. West Indies won the series’ decisive match at New Chandigarh by five wickets after India won the first two games.
India’s five-match ODI tour of New Zealand, which begins on November 4 in Auckland, is Kohli’s next task in the format. As the team prepares for the 2027 ODI World Cup, which is widely expected to be his final appearance at the competition, he is expected to continue to play a key role in India’s plans.
