Recently, two individuals were mistakenly assigned the mobile number of Rajat Patidar, leading to unexpected calls from cricket stars Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers.
Former India cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin recalled an incident during IPL 2025 when a scammer contacted him, requesting Virat Kohli’s phone number. This event coincided with a funny situation in Chhattisgarh, where a man named Manish was reassigned the deactivated number of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) captain Rajat Patidar.
According to PTI, Patidar’s number had been inactive for 90 days, causing it to be deactivated and reassigned to Manish. As a result, Manish began receiving calls from prominent RCB players like AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli, who were trying to reach Patidar.
When Patidar got in touch with Manish to explain that the number was his personal contact, containing important connections related to RCB, Team India, and Madhya Pradesh cricket, he requested Manish to return the SIM card.
After learning that the police had also become involved, Manish and his friend Khemraj generously agreed to return the SIM. They said it was a dream come true to have spoken with cricket legends Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers.
“Can you share it?” – Ravi Ashwin exposes scammer posing as Devon Conway to get Virat Kohli’s number
Sharing the incident on his YouTube channel, Ashwin revealed his own amusing encounter.
“A guy messaged me after IPL 2025, claiming to be Conway. He said, ‘Hi buddy, how are you?’ I replied, and we ended up having a full conversation. I told him to keep in touch and promised I’d watch him play in the MLC,” Ashwin recounted with a laugh.
Then the scammer asked, “I missed Virat’s number; can you share it?” Ashwin found this suspicious but didn’t want to question him directly, fearing it might offend ‘Conway.’
Things became clearer when the caller also asked for MS Dhoni’s and Rohit Sharma’s numbers.
“That’s when I realized it was a prank or scam. I sent him a fake number claiming it was Virat’s. Then he asked for a few more numbers. When I questioned who else, he mentioned Rohit and Dhoni. I knew then it was a scam,” Ashwin explained.
To confirm, Ashwin said, “I asked him, ‘I gave you a bat this year; how is it?’ He replied, ‘The bat is amazing.’ But I never gave Conway a bat! That’s when I blocked him.”
