It had long been speculated and rumoured that Anushka Sharma was pregnant. There were the odd photos supposed to show her baby bump. Absences from public events were cited as 'evidence'. And yet, the actress and husband Virat Kohli maintained silence on these rumours. On Tuesday evening, when they announced that they had welcomed their second child five days back, many felt validated. Others marvelled at how the country's biggest celeb couple managed to keep such a big development under wraps for months, not just days.
Central to it was their decision to have the delivery in London. While nothing has been officially stated, Anushka and Virat reportedly flew to London a couple of weeks before the birth of their son Akaay. Virat and Anushka have always been private about their personal lives. From their daughter Vamika's birth to her face and even their marriage and relationship, they have kept it all very private. Keeping Akaay's birth private seems to be a logical extension of it. And having seen the frenzy around Vamika's birth in India in 2020-21, they most likely decided that being away from the country was the best way to keep roving eyes at bay.
There were report that Anushka's pregnancy had complications. It is futile to speculate on someone's well-being and health but the fact of the matter is that Virat and Anushka could manage to avoid leaks (from the hospital) as well as put a distance of a few thousand miles between themselves and the media by moving to London.
Another theory is that the couple wants to move to the UK soon, or at least, use it as their second home soon. Virat is one of the leading names in Indian cricket but at 35, he is in the twilight of his career. He probably has a few more years of active cricket left but the number is most likely single digit, and a small digit at that. Anushka, too, has been absent from the big screen for over five years. She has turned producer and has only one film in her kitty for now.
It has been reported that the two wish to slow down on the work front and give more time to family in the future, using London as a second base. They probably have some idea of how to go about it watching Virat's idol Sachin Tendulkar, who has owned a home in the UK for several years now. Sachin frequently spends considerable time in the country, saying it allows him the privacy and freedom he can never have in India. Maybe Virat is following in his hero's footsteps one more time.
