At the end of April 2025, Indian cricket great Virat Kohli unwittingly caused a flutter when his Instagram account briefly "liked" a bold photo of Bollywood star and television actor Avneet Kaur. The action, later withdrawn, led to extensive conjecture online, with supporters breaking down the interaction and wondering what it was meant for. Kohli, married to actress Anushka Sharma, was widely criticized, and his team was compelled to issue a statement declaring that the accident was a "technical glitch" and asserting there was "no intent" involved in the like.
On 2nd May 2025, Kohli's team replied with the following words of explanation: "Virat's account activity is managed by his team, and it was an unintentional post because of a technical glitch". Despite the clarification, the controversy overshadowed his professional life as well as his not attending the post-match celebration of Royal Challengers Bangalore's IPL victory. Fans presumed that the controversy must have disrupted his mindset even though no official link was created.
24-year-old Avneet Kaur is a rising Indian actress. She began her career as a child artiste in TV shows like Aladdin – Naam Toh Suna Hoga before moving to the big screen with the 2023 Netflix film Tiku Weds Sheru. She is extremely famous for her bold sense of fashion and social media following with over 30 million fans on Instagram. She has not gone on record regarding the Kohli incidence but the paparazzi managed to capture her evading questions regarding the same when she was caught in public recently.
Avneet Kaur hasn't spoken on the rumors as of yet but remains as active as ever on social media, keeping herself engaged in her job. Such rumors have the disadvantage of being a young celebrity of the social media era with her nascent career.
Ironically, the scandal served to give Avneet more visibility. It was shared in the media how the unintentional like gave her work record publicity with some hailing it as a "career-defining" moment. She quietly commemorated Kohli's Test retirement on May 13, 2025 by putting up a heart emoji on her Instagram post once again, again inviting speculation among the fans. Neither of the two chose any other form of personal interactions.
Netizens remained split. While there were some critics of Kohli for the faux pas, others cleared his name on the basis of common accidental social media conduct. Avneet's fans praised the way she had handled the matter, citing her refusal to engage in sensationalism.
The Virat Kohli and Avneet Kaur scandal speaks to the fleeting nature of social media and its ability to take a run-of-the-mill exchange and turn it into a national sensation. Though the episode arrived and departed rapidly, it illuminated the dilemma of public figures and keeping up with privacy, and how an errant click becomes a cultural touchstone.