He was greeted with chants of 'Kohli, Kohli' with fans jostling for selfies and handshakes, as Kohli struggled to make his way through the crowd to his car.
Australia were dealt an early blow in their quest to reach the Super Eight stage of the Twenty20 World Cup after the depleted former champions crashed to a 23-run defeat by Zimbabwe in Colombo on Friday.
Pakistan qualified for the tournament in April this year.
Ashwin's comments echo a growing concern within the game, that too many tournaments, too often, may be eroding the very excitement that once made World Cups unmissable.
Ajit Agarkar's tenure as India's chief selector has been defined by bold decisions, tough calls and India reaching multiple ICC finals during his three-year stint.
India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav crossed 4,000 international runs during the T20 World Cup Super 8 clash against Zimbabwe, continuing his stellar run in the shortest format.
Having played the most defining knock of her career to ensure South Africa's maiden entry into Women's ODI World Cup final, skipper Laura Wolvaardt found the feeling to be surreal.
Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer who have often been overlooked in the T20 format, will captain Gujarat Titans and Punjab Kings respectively with both eager to make a statement.
'Australia is his favourite hunting ground, and now he is making his comeback after the IPL. I am really looking forward to seeing him bat in those three ODIs, and hopefully, out of those three, he gets at least two centuries for India.'
Mahendra Singh Dhoni continue to be the numero uno one-day batsman followed by his deputy Yuvraj Singh but seasoned Sachin Tendulkar dropped a place to ninth in the latest ICC rankings issued on Tuesday.
With a 3-0 victory over the West Indies, Pakistan leapfrogged to No. 4 with rating of 106, leaving India behind a notch below at 105.
India captain Suryakumar Yadav on Wednesday climbed five places to seventh in the ICC men's T20I rankings
Mandhana dropped one spot to second after totalling 115 runs across the three matches against England.
Australia captain Mitchell Marsh says team respects criticism after shock T20 World Cup exit, with Cricket Australia set to conduct a forensic review.
After a star turn at the ICC U-19 World Cup 2026, India star Vaibhav Suryavanshi shifts focus to Class 10 board exams, balancing cricketing glory with academics.
With three league games still to be played, the former champions would need outright victories in all their remaining fixtures to harbour any realistic chance of making it to the knockout stage.
Rajeev Shukla recalled his conversations with Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, revealing that the 'Master Blaster' had expressed confidence that a young Virat Kohli could one day break his major batting records.
Mohammed Siraj's burst on the final day of the Test series against England helped India win in dramatic fashion to level the five-match series at 2-2.
India captain Virat Kohli reclaimed the top batting spot, while Australia's pace ace Josh Hazlewood has achieved the number-one position in the bowlers' rankings for the first time in his career in the latest MRF Tyres ICC ODI Player Rankings.
Rohit Sharma took to the nets to fine-tune his batting ahead of the three-match series against New Zealand, starting on Sunday, January 11.
Kohli (886 points) and Rohit (868 points) have gained two and three ratings points, respectively to occupy the top two positions in the batting rankings.
New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner believes his team is on equal footing with South Africa ahead of their T20 World Cup semifinal match. Santner acknowledges South Africa's strength but emphasises the importance of adapting to conditions and executing plans effectively in the crucial knockout game.
Former New Zealand all-rounder Doug Bracewell has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on Monday, as per the ICC website.
Indian cricket greats Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were felicitated by the Baroda Cricket Association during the first ODI against New Zealand at the Kotambi Stadium on Sunday, in what turned into one of the most talked-about moments of the match.
Bavuma said his hamstring was 'feeling good' ahead of his return, and the South African skipper also confirmed he would bat at number three for the opening match of the three-game series behind openers Ryan Rickelton and Aiden Markram.
India captain Rohit Sharma has climbed to second place in the ICC men's ODI batting rankings, closing in on top-ranked Shubman Gill.
Australia will aim to salvage pride against Oman in their final T20 World Cup match after a disappointing campaign marked by injuries and poor form.
India Women to travel to South Africa for five-match T20I series
A preview of the key player battles that could determine the outcome of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 final between India and New Zealand, highlighting individual matchups and their potential impact on the game.
Kohli gets 'Spirit of Cricket' gong; Stokes is ICC Cricketer of the Year.
"With 17,266 international runs, 829 dismissals and 538 matches across formats for India, Dhoni's numbers reflect not just excellence but extraordinary consistency, fitness and longevity," it said.
Star India cricketer Smriti Mandhana continues to top the ODI batting charts though the charismatic batter's lead has reduced following two underwhelming performances in the ongoing ICC Women's World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.
Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj is likely to replace Harshit Rana in the T20 World Cup squad after Rana sustained an injury during a warm-up match against South Africa.
Former Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin urged his long-time partner in spin, Ravindra Jadeja to experiment instead of just sticking to his strengths, acknowledging that these are challenging times for the legendary spin bowling all-rounder in ODIs, with Axar Patel ready to take his spot in case of a major slip.
Sri Lanka suffered a big blow as their star all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga was ruled out of the T20 World Cup with a hamstring injury suffered in the opening match against Ireland.
While Bumrah, who has a lead of 20 points over Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan, will hope to continue to hold on to his numero uno status, spinners Kuldeep Yadav (sixth) and Yuzvendra Chahal (joint-ninth) too will look to consolidate position in the top 10.
Shubman Gill dominated with the bat in England, as he amassed a huge tally of 567 runs at an average of 94.50 in the three Tests played in July.
India reached their 10th U19 World Cup final, the most for any team, followed by Australia with six in 16 editions of this tournament.
Alyssa Healy concluded her international cricket career with a Test victory over India, advocating for the expansion of women's Test cricket.
Sanju Samson's unbeaten 89 powered India to 253/7 before they survived Jacob Bethell's stunning century to beat England by seven runs and enter the T20 World Cup final.
