There was a time when the first signs of greying brought with them a quiet acceptance of ageing, a casual shrug of the shoulders, and a new pack of hair dye – usually ‘natural black’ that fooled no one. Today, they bring internet meltdowns.
A recent photo of Virat Kohli in London did not show him injured, retiring, or switching to golf. No. He was simply standing next to a fan, sporting a black cap, a grey beard, and the same stoic face that has launched a thousand memes – and panic buttons.
A concerned fan posted the image with the caption: ‘End is near 💔’. The greys, it seems, have spoken louder than the bat.
Whether that line came from a woman with a crush on Virat or a casual observer with a grudge against Anushka Sharma is unclear, but there was more than a faint whiff of sour grapes in the air. As if the man had scored centuries not with his bat, but his beard.
Time, tide, and testosterone wait for one
Greying, of course, is natural as night after day. But for certain fans, hair colour now doubles up as a performance indicator. When the beard was black, Kohli was king. Now that it is salt and pepper, they are reading it like a farewell note in progress.
In this worldview, a streak of grey signals not wisdom or wear, but withdrawal – an impending announcement, a ceremonial press conference, and possibly a commemorative T-shirt with ‘Thank You, Cheeku’.
Four-day hair forecast
Virat, never one to dodge humour, had already flagged this brewing storm at a recent public event. ‘I just coloured my beard two days ago. You know it’s time when you’re colouring your beard every four days – it’s time to relax,’ he had said, dropping what many took as a philosophical hint of slowing down.
And when the photo from London surfaced – with Virat looking contemplative, bearded and visibly greyer – a section of fans lost the plot. One particularly poetic post read: ‘White beard, dimming fire, and tired eyes. Yes, that’s Virat Kohli in his latest pic from London. The King has begun to lay down his sword. We’ve probably reached the ending we never wanted to see!’ Not since the Kalinga war have facial follicles caused this much anguish.
The black and white of celebrity hair
Across professions, there is an unspoken pact – thou shalt not grey in public. Cinema has already shown the way: from Bollywood to Kollywood to Mollywood and the unavoidable Tollywood, superstars dye like there is no tomorrow and sometimes no yesterday. Shhhh ….. some even wear wigs with pride!
SP Balasubrahmanyam wore his pitch-black crown and matching moustache with pride, while his son, SP Charan, chose to let time take the colour off the reel. In a joint concert in Dubai, Charan even joked about his father’s resistance to age, noting that he, unlike his dad, was happy to let nature run its slow desaturation filter.
Cricket too has its hairlines of defence. Some players swear by semi-permanent colouring, while others let their scalps speak the truth. But when the man in question is Virat, the bar is higher and the brush strokes more scrutinised.
Existential dread
Virat is 36. That is young enough to lead a fitness app, old enough to have retired from at least one format, and just the right age to trigger existential dread in fans who still think Sachin is only taking a short break.
But the beard has become a lightning rod. It has been interpreted as exhaustion, disinterest, even doom. As if centuries are scored by follicles, not form.
The fact is, Virat has not played competitive cricket since the end of the IPL. He has not retired. He has not announced any farewell series. What he has done is post a recent photo with Gujarat Titans assistant coach Naeem Amin at an indoor training facility – signalling that he is back in the nets, and possibly back in business. Yet, for some, the greys are louder than the bat.
Better things to do than reach for the brush
Does showing your true colours mean the end is near? Not necessarily. Sometimes, it just means the man has better things to do than book salon appointments every 96 hours. Maybe it means he has grown into his age. Maybe he is comfortable with his legacy. Maybe he is just tired of looking like a shampoo ad.
And if a few white hairs are enough to make fans question the future, then it says less about Virat’s career and more about our collective obsession with youth as a performance-enhancing substance. For now, let the beard be. The game is not over yet.
