"Yeah, probably" - When Virat Kohli nonchalantly explained during IPL 2021 why he blocked Glenn Maxwell on Instagram

In 2024, former Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell recalled a welcome note from Virat Kohli after Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) bought him at the 2021 auction. Then Maxwell did what any new teammate does and went looking for Kohli on Instagram.

However, to his surprise, Maxwell could not find Kohli's Instagram handle and thought that the ace Indian batter did not use the app.

"When I knew that I was going to RCB, Virat was the first guy to message me and welcome me to the team. So I go to his social media, follow him. Didn't even think about it before that. Never really crossed my mind. I was like, 'I can't find him'. Didn't really understand why he wasn't coming up, and then someone mentioned that he might have blocked you. That is the only way you're not able to find him. I was like, surely not," recalled Maxwell (via NDTV).

Maxwell then asked Kohli about the same and found out that the former Indian captain had blocked him for mocking him during the 2017 India-Australia Ranchi Test.

"Then I went and asked him, 'Have you blocked me on Instagram?' And he was like, 'Yeah, probably. It was when you mocked me during that Test match. I think I got the sh and decided to block you. I was like, 'Yeah, that's fair enough'. So yeah, he ended up unblocking me, and we became great friends after that," stated Maxwell.

The Test in question came in March 2017, the third match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Ranchi. On the opening day Kohli hurt his right shoulder while fielding, an injury severe enough to keep him out of the decider in Dharamsala, which India won by eight wickets to take the series 2-1.

When Australia fielded later in the match, Maxwell clutched his right shoulder in imitation of the India captain. Kohli, as Maxwell tells it, responded by reaching for the block button.

Maxwell calls time on his international career

Fast-forward to the present, and Glenn Maxwell called time on his stellar international career yesterday (November 2). He already stepped away from ODI cricket in 2025.

He has also finished with first-class and List A cricket for Victoria, but will keep playing for Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League, where he is contracted through the 2027-28 season.

Maxwell retires with 286 international appearances, 7,226 runs and 136 wickets. The white-ball numbers define him: 3,990 ODI runs at 33.81 and a strike rate of 126.70, plus 2,897 T20I runs at 28.97 and 154.42, third on Australia's run list. His five T20I centuries are a joint record with Rohit Sharma.

He won three World Cups, the 2015 and 2023 ODI titles and the 2021 T20 World Cup, where he struck the winning runs in the final against New Zealand.

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