Ace Indian batter Virat Kohli recently met a group of young fans in Vadodara, out of which one of the boys looked exactly like his younger self. Kohli met the little one in the city ahead of the Men in Blue's first ODI against New Zealand.

He was involved in a training session in Vadodara. The veteran batter spared some time to meet the eager children who had gathered near the venue. One of the children had an uncanny facial resemblance to the Delhi batter when he was a kid. Kohli could not help but grin with a wide smile after observing the child while giving out his autograph.

Netizens on X and other social media handles were quick to draw comparisons and even created collages that featured the young fan and Kohli's childhood pictures side by side. This has added a nostalgic buzz ahead of Kohli's first international appearance in 2026.

The upcoming ODI series against New Zealand will be the third international assignment for the star batter after India's series against Australia and South Africa. Kohli will be entering the three-match series on the back of some fine outings in the international arena.

Kohli registered 651 runs in ODIs in 2025 in the 13 matches played at a superlative average of 65.10, which comprised four fifties and three tons. He was awarded the Player of the Series award for top-scoring in the series against the Proteas. The iconic batter also donned the Delhi jersey in their recent Vijay Hazare Trophy encounters against Andhra and Gujarat, registering scores of 131 off 101 and 77 off 61, respectively.

The seasoned cricketer will aim to carry forward the momentum in the new year. As always, he will be one of the key cricketers to watch out for from the Indian setup.

The Men in Blue will play five T20Is after the three 50-over matches. Kohli will understandably not be a part of the T20Is after having already retired from the shortest format after India's T20 World Cup 2024 triumph. The ODIs will be played in Vadodara (January 11), Rajkot (January 14) and Indore (January 18).