Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Yuzvendra Chahal changed their profile names on respective Twitter handles as a tribute to the “selfless frontline warriors” who have served various communities during the COVID-19 crisis. Part of Royal Challengers Bangalore's initiative #MyCovidHeroes, Kohli, De Villiers and Chahal changed their names on Twitter to Simranjeet Singh, Paritosh Pant and Dr Nayak hours before their first Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 match against SunRisers Hyderabad in Dubai. Their profile pictures too had these names of “My Covid Heroes” on the back of their RCB jerseys.
“These real challengers have made the country proud and inspired all of us to be more persistent and dedicated to our efforts to build a better tomorrow.
“I am truly proud to wear RCB's “My Covid Heroes” jersey as a sign of solidarity and gratitude to everyone who is right now going the extra mile to support the community at large. They have batted day and night and fought on the field, and I am honoured to call them my heroes.”
Simranjeet Singh, one of Kohli's COVID hero, is hearing impaired who raised donations for the people suffering in the pandemic. He along with his friends raised Rs. 98,000 for relief work.
RCB play their first IPL 2020 match against SRH on Monday in Dubai.