Manish Bisi, a young man from Madagaon Villager in Chhattisgarh’s Gariaband district, ended up in a real-life story right out of a movie after buying a SIM card from a local mobile phone shop. The SIM card, it found out, had previously belonged to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain Rajat Patidar.
Manish, the son of farmer Gajendra Bisi, purchased the SIM card on June 28 from a mobile shop in Deobhog, around eight km from his Villager.
When Manish and his friend Khemraj spotted Patidar’s profile image appear on WhatsApp after installing the app, they assumed it was a glitch. However, the situation suddenly became strange as voices on the other end of the queue verified it was true.
The two soon received calls from persons claiming to be Indian cricket veteran Virat Kohli, former RCB great AB de Villiers, and spinner Yash Dayal. At first, Manish and Khemraj rejected the exchanges as elaborate pranks played by their buddies. They even played along, Khemraj later alleged, despite their shock at the happenings.
Later, on July 15, Patidar himself called up and asked, ‘brother, please return my SIM’. However, their lightheartedness faded when Patidar himself called, speaking in a tone that carried a clear warning. He mentioned sending the police, and minutes later, officers arrived.
Gariaband Deputy Superintendent of Police Neha Sinha later clarified that the SIM had been deactivated under telecom policy after 90 days of inactivity, which led to its resale. She also informed Manish and his family about the situation and, with their consent, the SIM was recently returned to Patidar.
“Manish was actually getting calls from cricketers who were in contact with Rajat Patidar. Patidar informed the Madhya Pradesh Cyber Cell that his number had been allotted to someone else and requested to have it back. There was no legal issue or fault on anyone’s part. This was simply a result of standard telecom procedures,” Neha said as quoted by NDTV Sports.
For Manish, Khemraj, and their families, the entire episode has been nothing short of a cinematic experience.
“I never imagined I would speak to Virat Kohli one day, and that too from our village. When AB de Villiers called, he spoke in English. We couldn’t understand a word, but we were so thrilled. When Manish used to get calls, he would hand over the phone to me. The callers who identified themselves as Virat Kohli and Yash Dayal asked us why we were using Patidar’s number. We explained to them we had bought a new SIM and this is our number,” Khemraj said.
Manish’s brother, Deshbandhu Bisi, said the entire village was overjoyed. He also admitted that most people here are RCB fans, and talking to legends like them is something that cannot be described.
“Even if it was all due to a mix-up, these conversations happened out of sheer luck. People just dream of seeing them, we got to speak to them,” Deshbandhu said.
India
