Virat Kohli has spent most of his career in the spotlight for what he does on the cricket field. But in recent years, another side of the former India captain has also attracted plenty of attention.

Kohli and his wife, Anushka Sharma, have made several visits to spiritual leader Premanand Maharaj’s ashram in Vrindavan. Their first widely reported visit came in January 2023, and the couple have returned to the ashram on several occasions since then.

For Kohli, these visits have been less about publicity and more about faith, reflection and seeking blessings. His association with Premanand Maharaj has continued through some of the biggest moments of his career.

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When Did Virat Kohli First Meet Premanand Maharaj?

Kohli and Anushka first visited Premanand Maharaj in Vrindavan in January 2023. A video from the visit showed the couple sitting with folded hands and listening to the spiritual leader’s discourse. Their daughter Vamika was also present during that visit.

That meeting marked the beginning of a relationship that has continued for more than three years. The couple have returned to the ashram at different points, sometimes around important moments in their personal lives and cricket careers.

How Many Times Have Kohli And Anushka Visited?

There is no official public record giving an exact number of visits. However, several visits have been reported and documented through videos and photographs.

The couple were back at the ashram in February 2026, when they arrived early in the morning to meet Premanand Maharaj. They returned after Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s IPL 2026 triumph in June.

In July 2026, Kohli and Anushka made another visit to the ashram, with reports saying they went there ahead of Guru Purnima.

What Has Premanand Maharaj Told Kohli?

The conversations between Kohli, Anushka and Premanand Maharaj have often centred on faith, discipline and finding balance away from the outside world.

One message that has particularly stood out is the importance of treating one’s work as a duty and continuing to put in the effort without becoming distracted by success or fame.

The emphasis has also been on discipline and practice. For a professional sportsperson like Kohli, the idea of remaining committed to his work naturally connects with the demands of elite cricket.

Another recurring theme has been humility.

Kohli has spent more than a decade as one of the biggest names in world cricket. Yet his visits to the ashram have often shown a quieter side of the batter, away from stadiums, cameras and the pressure surrounding Indian cricket.

The broader spiritual message has been that fame, money and public praise are temporary, while inner peace and devotion matter more.

What Happened In Kohli’s Cricket Career After The First Visit?

The timing is interesting. Kohli’s first reported visit to Premanand Maharaj came in January 2023. Just a few months later, he produced one of the most important innings of his Test career.

In March 2023, Kohli scored 186 against Australia in Ahmedabad. It was his first Test century since November 2019, ending a wait of more than three years for a hundred in the format.

But the biggest chapter of his post-2023 cricketing journey came later that year.

50th ODI Century And A Record-Breaking World Cup The 2023 ODI World Cup turned into one of the greatest individual campaigns of Kohli’s career. He scored 765 runs in the tournament, the highest tally by any batter in a single men’s ODI World Cup. He also won the Player of the Tournament award.

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Then came the moment that will forever be associated with that campaign.

On November 15, 2023, Kohli scored 117 against New Zealand in the semi-final in Mumbai. In doing so, he reached his 50th ODI century and moved past Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 49 ODI hundreds. It was a landmark that had looked almost impossible when Tendulkar had set the record.

From IPL Struggles To RCB’s Historic Success

Kohli’s relationship with Royal Challengers Bengaluru also took a dramatic turn after his first visit to the ashram. In IPL 2024, he won the Orange Cap after scoring 741 runs. His form was one of the biggest positives from RCB’s campaign that season. RCB eventually ended their long wait for an IPL title in 2025 and then followed it up with another title in 2026. Kohli was part of both successful campaigns, giving him another major achievement that had eluded him for much of his IPL career. After RCB’s 2026 triumph, Kohli and Anushka travelled to Vrindavan and visited Premanand Maharaj again to seek his blessings.

The T20 World Cup Triumph

Another major moment came in June 2024. Kohli had endured a difficult start to the T20 World Cup, but he saved his best for the final against South Africa. He scored 76 off 59 balls in the title clash in Barbados and played a key role in India’s seven-run victory. The triumph was especially significant because Kohli announced his retirement from T20I cricket shortly after the final.

It meant he walked away from the format with a T20 World Cup title, having delivered on the biggest stage when India needed him most.

Has Premanand Maharaj Made Kohli A Better Cricketer?

That is something nobody can establish as a fact. Kohli’s performances improved at several points after his first visit, and some of the biggest achievements of his career came during this period. But there is no evidence that his visits to Premanand Maharaj directly caused those performances.

What can be said is that spirituality has become an important part of Kohli’s life during this phase of his career.

His visits have coincided with several major personal and professional milestones, but the cricketer himself has continued to do what he has always done on the field, train, prepare and compete at the highest level.

Perhaps that is the most interesting part of the story.

The man who built his reputation on aggression and intensity now appears equally interested in finding calm away from the cricket field.

A Different Side Of Virat Kohli

From the 50th ODI century to the T20 World Cup, from RCB’s long-awaited IPL triumph to his continued dominance in the 50-over format, Kohli’s post-2023 career has produced several memorable moments.

At the same time, his repeated visits to Premanand Maharaj show that cricket is no longer the only part of his life that commands his attention.

For Kohli, the ashram appears to have become a place where he can step away from the noise of professional sport and reconnect with his faith.

And that may be the biggest change in the Virat Kohli of recent years, not necessarily in the way he bats, but in the way he chooses to find balance away from the game.