Virat Kohli’s accidental ‘like’ on Avneet Kaur’s photo sparks controversy; the cricketer says, “The algorithm may have mistakenly…”

Indian cricket star Virat Kohli found himself at the center of an unexpected and hilarious social media frenzy after fans noticed that he had liked a picture of actress Avneet Kaur on Instagram. The image, shared by a fan page, featured Avneet in a stylish green crop top and a printed wrap skirt. But what truly ignited the buzz wasn’t the photo—it was the fact that Kohli’s verified account had interacted with it, just a day after he posted a heartfelt birthday message for his wife, actress Anushka Sharma.
As soon as netizens spotted the interaction, a meme tsunami took over the internet. Comments began pouring in, with users tagging Anushka Sharma and even dragging Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg into the madness. Some joked about the timing, others speculated about Kohli’s intent, and many simply couldn’t believe the ‘like’ was real.
The 'like' itself vanished soon after, but not before screens had been snapped, posted, and made meme gold. From Kohli being tagged a "silent admirer" to memes making fun of Anushka altering the Wi-Fi password, the internet went crazy with imagination.
To pacify the frenzy, Kohli went to his Instagram Stories with a proper explanation, "I'd like to clarify that while clearing my feed, it seems the algorithm might have incorrectly registered an interaction. There was absolutely no intention behind it. I request that no unnecessary assumptions be made. Thank you for your understanding."
But instead of ending the chatter, Kohli’s explanation gave meme-makers new fuel. The phrase “algorithm mistakenly registered an interaction” quickly went viral, with users mocking it as peak “corporate lingo.” One tweet summed it up perfectly, “Galti se picture like hogai hogi.”
Although the episode might have been innocent and an accident, the meme fest which followed illustrates exactly how quickly people can make an instant into a comedy legend. Avneet has not reacted to it yet.