Virat Kohli Will Always Be India’s Icon. What’s the Fuss About His London Move?

Kohli's alleged move to London echoes broader trends in Indian migration. He isn't the first, he won't be the last.

What is the fuss about Virat Kohli's move to London?

(Photo: BCCI/Altered by The Quint)

India’s debacle Down Under during the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy still rankles many cricket fans in the country.

There have been many reasons attributed to this massive defeat, the first at the hands of Australia in a Test series in over a decade. One main cause for this massive debacle was the poor form of the two main batters in the line-up – skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.

While Sharma struggled throughout, Kohli started off well and then tapered off.

And just as Kohli’s runs dried up, came an interview from his childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma in Delhi. The interview ostensibly was meant to talk about Kohli’s famed struggles outside the off-stump. But as the interview went along, the coach revealed that his one-time ward, Kohli, is moving base to London for good.

The Timeline of Virat Kohli’s Move

Now this has been the worst-kept secret in Indian cricket for the past 12 months. Kohli has made more trips to England than possibly even his good friend and former England skipper Kevin Pietersen.

It first came to light in late 2023 when Kohli arrived late for a Test series in South Africa. He delayed his arrival because of some personal work in London. There was a lot of speculation at the time, but nothing much came out of it.

Then in early 2024, when England came calling for a Test series in India, Kohli was named on the squad for the first couple of games. But suddenly Kohli opted out of the first couple of Tests, again for personal reasons. As the series went along, Kohli pulled out completely. Then again, Kohli had travelled to the UK to be with his wife Anushka and daughter. They were then awaiting the birth of the second child – son Akaay.

So, for a while, the speculation has been rife in Indian cricket circles that Kohli will be making a move to London. This, while he comes to play for India whenever required, and of course, appears for his beloved Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

Indian Cricketers Moving Base Is Not Entirely New

It may seem to be an odd move for an Indian cricketer, but it is not entirely new. We have had several cricketers from India who have moved base out of the country.

Back in the 1970s, India’s flamboyant former wicket-keeper batter Farokh Engineer moved base to Manchester. Engineer had been playing for the English county side Lancashire, based out of Manchester, for over a decade. Once he finished playing for India in 1975, Engineer switched to being based out of Manchester from his beloved Mumbai.

In the early 1980s, we had another former India cricketer Dilip Doshi, who had been a regular in the English county circuit, also moving base there. Then as years rolled on, we had the likes of former India captain Sunil Gavaskar turning a Non-Resident Indian (NRI) with his base in Dubai. Another former India skipper and former head coach Ravi Shastri had also turned an NRI, with his base also being in Dubai.

The point being, that the phenomenon is not unheard of. In recent years, we have had other former cricketers like Robin Uthappa and RP Singh also establishing a base in Dubai. Many other unheralded former cricketers Rashid Patel and RP Singh Sr have also been in England for over three decades.

When such a decision comes from an iconic cricketer like Kohli, though, the move takes on a different dynamic altogether. We have seen Kohli and Anushka walking the streets of Australia during the recent tour, with not one soul bothering them as they walked around. They could live a normal life and enjoy the festivities surrounding the year-end celebrations. This can never be the case for Kohli and his family in India.

Indeed, we did have the spectacle of Kohli taking on an Australian television reporter for reportedly filming his kids. However, apart from such one-off incidents, we never hear of such intrusions for such established names, unless of course, they are royalty or Hollywood stars. Kohli is not the only one from India to plan a move to the UK.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK has experienced significant changes in its employment landscape, particularly concerning the nationalities filling new job roles.

Between 2019 and 2024:

• Indian nationals have filled 488,000 new roles

• Nigerian nationals have taken up 279,000 new positions

• British nationals have secured 257,000 new jobs

• EU nationals have seen a reduction of 242,000 in job holdings

A Broader Study in Mass Exodus of Indians

Since 2021, the British government has lowered the salary threshold for non-EU migrants from £30,000 to £25,600. Also, the skill level requirements were reduced from degree-level to A-level or equivalent.

The British authorities have also suspended the annual cap of sponsorship. Also, the proportion of jobs held by non-EU nationals increased from 7 percent at the end of 2019 to over 11 percent by the end of 2023. Concurrently, the jobs held by EU nationals decreased from 8.6 percent to 7.5 percent.

Indian workers currently account for arriving with the most number of dependents. Around 67,380 Indian workers have arrived in the UK with 70,647 dependents in 2022. This has partly been the contributor to the increase in the number of dependents arriving in the UK since 2019.

In 2023, Indians were the largest group of immigrants to the UK, with a total of 250,000 arrivals.

The other big factor that has happened because of this migration is that the number of people renouncing Indian citizenship has also seen a sea change.

In 2023, a total of 216,219 Indians renounced their citizenship, marking a slight decrease from 225,620 in 2022.

The number of Indians giving up the passport has seen some changes over the past five years especially because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But it has since picked up.

Apart from the statistics around the migration to the UK, there is the other option of moving base to the UAE. While other countries offer an opportunity to switch passports, the UAE has started a new scheme called the Golden Visa. This is particularly popular amongst the High Net Worth Individuals (HNIs). A number of high-profile singers, actors, and as mentioned before, sportspersons from India, have availed this scheme.

For wealthy Indians, the UAE, specifically Dubai, provides access to the rest of the globe with high quality of life, including world-class infrastructure and a cosmopolitan culture. All cities of the UAE have low crime rates with exciting business opportunities. The other big draw for the UAE is the absence of personal income tax.

Ultimately, Kohli’s Decision is Practical

The statistics provide a broad perspective, the much-expected move by Kohli is a personal call. It is also a practical decision considering that he wants his kids to lead a normal life which is nigh impossible in India. He can never have the experiences he had recently in Australia or in London.

But this move by Kohli also shows how icons like him seek safe spaces for their family. This is the ideal way to balance public and private lives. Kohli’s move is not about just cricket or convenience but about setting the right priorities for his young family.

As he reaches the final stages of his international career, the whole cricket world – and indeed the whole of India – will be watching his next move very closely.

One thing is for certain, he may move wherever, but his heart will continue to beat for India. He firmly remains India’s biggest global icon currently as seen by his passionate celebrations on the recent Australian tour.