Virat Kohli and his actress wife Anushka Sharma are now proud parents of a baby girl. Anushka gave birth to their first child at Mumbai’s Breach Candy hospital on Monday (January 11). The Indian cricket team skipper on Monday shared the delightful news with his fans on Twitter.
“We are thrilled to share with you that we have been blessed with a baby girl this afternoon. We thank you all for your love, prayers and good wishes. Anushka and the baby are both healthy and we are feeling beyond blessed to start this new chapter of our lives. We hope that you can respect our privacy at this time. Love, Virat,” tweeted Kohli.
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) January 11, 2021
This is the couple’s first child. Pictures of Anushka’s pregnancy journey was appreciated by her fans and followers on social media. During an interview for Vogue India, the Bollywood actress threw light on her pregnancy journey during the pandemic. While it wasn’t an ideal situation for the celebrity couple, who fiercely guard their privacy, Anushka said it ended up working in her favour.
“The pandemic has been a weird blessing in a way. Virat was around and I could keep it a secret,” she said. “We only left to go to the doctor’s clinic. No one was on the streets so we couldn’t be spotted.
“I quickly turned off my video and messaged my brother, who was also on the call, to stall them for ten minutes. If I had been on set or in a studio, everyone would have known.”
Anushka also talked about her fears of raising their child in the public eye. “We’ve thought about it a lot. We definitely do not want to raise a child in the public eye — we don’t plan on engaging our child in social media,” she added.
“I think it’s a decision your child should be able to take. No kid should be made to be more special than the other. It’s hard enough for adults to deal with it. It’s going to be difficult, but we intend to follow through.”
Meanwhile, Virat was granted paternity leave by the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) last month and he returned home from Australia after playing the first of a four-match Test series. In his absence, the team is being captained by Ajinkya Rahane.