On Monday, Twitterati were surprised to find that India and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain Virat Kohli's name had been replaced by "Simranjeet Singh" on Twitter. Did his account get hacked? Is it an impersonator? Who changed his name on Twitter?
Before you jump the gun and imagine the worst-case scenario (hello, it's 2020?!), the reason behind the name change is actually pretty straightforward and heartwarming.
Virat Kohli, along with other RCB players, will be honouring COVID warriors through the IPL 2020-- as a tribute to good samaritans who have gone out of their way to help others during the Covid-19 crisis, Virat Kohli changed his Twitter name to Simranjeet Singh. He even sported a jersey with Singh's name printed on it.
Kohli changed his name for a day, and while it's been changed back again, we have a screenshot:
On Monday, the official Twitter handle for RCB announced that to honour and as recognition for the efforts of the Covid heroes, the team players will be sporting jerseys with their names on it for the rest of the tournament:
My Covid Heroes: Over the past few days we’ve been bringing stories of Real Challengers who’ve inspired us. To pay homage to every Covid Hero out there, RCB has decided to sport ‘My Covid Heroes’ jersey throughout the Dream 11 IPL#PlayBold #IPL2020 #WeAreChallengers #Dream11IPL pic.twitter.com/y7Xbs69cQ1
— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) September 21, 2020
"My Covid Heroes: Over the past few days we’ve been bringing stories of Real Challengers who’ve inspired us. To pay homage to every Covid Hero out there, RCB has decided to sport ‘My Covid Heroes’ jersey throughout the Dream 11 IPL," the caption read.
Even cricketer Mohammad Kaif took to Twitter to share a photo of the jerseys with names of COVID warriors on them.
Massive respect for Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers who will have names of #CovidHeroes on their jerseys for the IPL season. Sport spreading the message of humanity and generosity is the need of the hour and who better than these two ambassadors of our game to do that. pic.twitter.com/HhnUzG3OCh
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) September 21, 2020
Here's how Twitterati reacted:
Abd &Virat Kohli Changed His Profile Picture and User Name To "paritosh pant"& "Simranjeet singh" To Give Tribute To COVID Heroes.thats reason why #RCB is awesome!Keep Your Heads High RCBians #WeAreChallengers pic.twitter.com/QPeweMpDoE
— Nandgave Sachin (@NandgaveSachin) September 21, 2020
Virat Kohli Changed his Name AsSimranjeet Singh, a hearing impaired, heapproached people to raise donations for thepoor suffering in the pandemic and many Deafindividuals agreed. Simranjeet Singh alongwith his friends raised Rs 98,000 to helppeople.#ViratKohli pic.twitter.com/KtB4wC6jeu
— Manobhiram_DHFM (@i_am_DHFM_) September 21, 2020
Another reason to love & support @imVkohli Proud to be his fan❤. Virat changed his Instagram & Twitter Profile Pic to Simranjeet's name pic.twitter.com/1TjenQ09w8
— ᏒᎧᎷᏋᎧ (@Romeo_theboss) September 21, 2020
Virat Kohli fans are trolling me for wondering who Simranjeet Singh is. Don't know whether to laugh or cry at the irony. Like they are trolling ME, ME of all people -- the biggest Kohli supporter on earth! pic.twitter.com/NhN85Gmi2X
— Sohini (@Mittermaniac) September 21, 2020
Not just Virat Kohli, even AB de Villiers changed his name on Twitter and was seen wearing a jersey with the name "Paritosh" printed on it. Who are Simranjeet Singh and Paritosh Pant?
According to a report by Free Press Journal, Chandigarh's Singh is hearing impaired but that didn't stop him from helping others during the Covid-19 crisis. He is not a part of any organisation; along with his friends, Singh raised around Rs 98,000 for the poor during the pandemic. Paritosh Pant, on the other hand, is a restaurateur, who launched a project, "Feeding from Afar" in Mumbai's Govandi to provide meals for the poor amid the coronavirus pandemic.