"Baseless": Kohli's Team Rejects Claim He Was Paid Rs 5 Crore for Premanand Maharaj's Ashram Visit

Former India captain Virat Kohli's spokesperson on Wednesday rejected a viral claim that the cricketer was paid Rs 5 crore to visit spiritual leader Premanand Maharaj's ashram in Vrindavan, calling it "completely false, baseless and factually incorrect."

No verified evidence has emerged to back the claim, which has circulated on social media.

"We would like to categorically state that the claims made by Falahari Maharaj Dinesh Sharma in regards to Mr. Virat Kohli are completely false, baseless and factually incorrect," the spokesperson said.

"Mr. Virat Kohli visits Premanand Maharaj Ji purely out of his deep faith and reverence for Maharaj Ji," the statement added. "We strongly refute these claims and urge the media to exercise due diligence, verify facts before reporting or amplifying such statements, and report responsibly."

WHERE THE CLAIM CAME FROM

The allegation was made by Dinesh Sharma, who is known as Falahari Maharaj and is president of the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Sangharsh Nyas. He made it in connection with Kohli's first visit to Premanand Maharaj, according to reports.

He alleged that a builder or property-linked group spent Rs 5 crore to arrange the visit, and that the money was tied to efforts to raise the spiritual leader's popularity and influence, with a larger property interest behind it.

Nothing independently confirms that Kohli received any payment. The allegation is unproven.

KOHLI AND PREMANAND MAHARAJ

Kohli and his wife, actor Anushka Sharma, have visited Premanand Maharaj's ashram several times. Videos of the visits, which the couple has not hidden, have gone viral.

In early 2025, they went with their children, Vamika and Akaay, after Kohli's poor run in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. In a clip from that visit, the spiritual leader praised Kohli for bringing joy to Indian fans and said success and failure were part of fate and that people should smile even in low patches.

They returned in May 2025, a day after Kohli announced his retirement from Test cricket. He had played 123 Tests, scoring 9,230 runs.

The couple is known to visit temples and attend talks by spiritual leaders in India and London. Reports say Kohli's turn towards spirituality began after his marriage to Anushka in December 2017.

The ashram is making headlines as it faces scrutiny after the death of one of Premanand Maharaj's disciples, Deepak Lodhi.

KOHLI'S CAREER

Kohli has played 123 Tests, 317 ODIs and 125 T20Is for India. He has scored 9,230 runs in Tests at an average of 46.85, including 30 hundreds and 31 fifties. In ODIs, he has 15,109 runs at 58.78, with 55 hundreds and 79 fifties. In T20Is, he has 4,188 runs at 48.69, with one hundred and 38 fifties.

With inputs from ANI