David Beckham wishes Virat Kohli on his 36th birthday

Legendary footballer David Beckham grabbed headlines after he extended birthday wishes to Virat Kohli as the latter turned 36 on November 5, 2024. The former footballer took to his Instagram story and shared a throwback picture from Kohli’s memorable century at the Wankhede Stadium from the ODI World Cup 2023 semi-final. Furthermore, he also shared a picture his conversation with Kohli and expressed his desire to meet him once more.  

Beckham and Kohli had played a bit of football together as the Indian team was preparing up for the ODI World Cup 2023 semi-final against New Zealand. Beckham was present at the Wankhede Stadium as the ambassador of UNICEF. Notably, Kohli surpassed Sachin Tendulkar's long-standing record of 49 centuries by notching up his 50th ton in the format as India won by a comprehensive margin of 70 runs.

He will rectify himself: Kapil Dev

Meanwhile, Kohli has been going through a slump in his form as the ace batter failed to perform across the three-game Test series against New Zealand. The Black Caps completely dominated team India, defeating them by a historic 3-0 margin with wins in Bengaluru, Pune, and Mumbai. 

Kohli scored 91 runs across the six innings in the three Tests and failed to go big after his 70-run knock in the first one in Bengaluru. With several experts criticising his form, former India cricketer Kapil Dev has come to Kohli’s defence and opined that he will rectify himself before the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy, starting from November 22.

“Nobody is a champion in cricket. Every day you can learn. So I think Virat Kohli is a very sorted individual, and in the coming days, he will rectify himself. And if he doesn’t, his greatness will not be at that level,” Kapil Dev told LiveMint. 

With the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 rapidly approaching, Rohit Sharma’s men will pin their hopes on Kohli and hope that he gets out of his slump as soon as possible.