Virat Kohli, the heartbeat of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), is no stranger to being in the spotlight. However, during the heat of the IPL 2026 season, the King found himself trending for reasons far removed from his cover drive. Social media erupted in a frenzy of memes and witty jabs after fans spotted Kohli’s official handle “liking” a bold picture of popular German influencer Lizzalazz. While Kohli remains a titan on the field, this digital slip-up has turned into the season’s biggest off-field distraction.
Virat Kohli’s “Like” set the internet ablaze
The drama unfolded late Thursday night when eagle-eyed fans noticed a notification that quickly went viral: Kohli had engaged with a recent post by Lizzalazz, a German vlogger and singer. Within minutes, screenshots were plastered across X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Reddit.
Lizzalazz, known for her lifestyle content and massive following, suddenly became a household name among Indian cricket fans. While the “like” was eventually removed, the digital footprint remained, sparking a wave of speculation and humor about whether the RCB star was simply scrolling too fast or intentionally admiring the content.
‘Algorithm Strikes Again’: Fans take aim at Kohli
This isn’t the first time Kohli got involved in such kind of controversy. In early 2025, he faced a nearly identical situation involving Avneet Kaur. At that time, he released a statement clarifying that the interaction was an accident caused by the way Instagram’s feed refreshes. By repeating the “mistake” in 2026, Kohli has inadvertently turned a minor tech glitch into a long-running joke within the cricketing community.
Fans on social media soon flooded timelines with jokes about “Anushka’s reaction” and even advised the former captain to “invest in a private account.” The hashtag #Algorithm quickly began trending, with users creating hilarious edits of Kohli looking nervous in the dugout.
Here’s how fans reacted:
Virat Kohli to algorithm 😭 pic.twitter.com/NXDzxDBaYx
— Abdullah (@abdultweetss) April 17, 2026
Anushka Sharma to Virat Kohli after his algorithm registered another interaction: pic.twitter.com/Ghw6oTRSL6
— nidhi ✨ (@sharma_kudi) April 17, 2026
Algorithm 💀
Instagram should consider re-writing the algorithm from the scratch again #Virat #Kohli #Algorithm #chahal #InstantCrush pic.twitter.com/NEFYXrkyxC
— Interstellar Guy (@ganeshdanuri63) April 17, 2026
Virat Kohli in front of Anushka after algorithm made its second mistake!!
— कुंभकरण (@_kumbhkaran) April 17, 2026
Virat Kohli really tapped a South African model’s post and would say the algorithm did it, as if Anushka Sharma was supposed to be like “Yes of course, this innocent little app keeps making the exact same type of mistake over and over again. #Viratkohli
— Adi (@adi__speaks) April 17, 2026
Here we go again! Virat kohli just liked a post by German influencer LizLaz and the algorithm memes are back.😭🤣 pic.twitter.com/MW9KZwC3ly
— Shariq (@CricBhakt7380) April 17, 2026
Virat kohli liked this hot German model’s photo 😛
(But one thing i should clarify- This is because of algorithm on insta 🫢) pic.twitter.com/ui8jl8I0xC— JosD92 (@JosD92official) April 17, 2026
Virat Kohli liked another model’s picture on Instagram.
Is he going to offer yet another tedious explanation on “algorithm working on its own?” pic.twitter.com/PoifmOl80R
— Brutal Truth (@sarkarstix) April 17, 2026
Algorithm registered another interaction by Virat Kohli on Instagram 😭 pic.twitter.com/wBjhWPhBBK
— Sandip Kamde (@SandipKamde89) April 17, 2026
Algorithm toh apna kaam karega hee …. Thank you for your understanding – Virat Kohli 😚 pic.twitter.com/Wfb2o8fU3b
— ExtraSpiceAni (@ShrivastavAni) April 17, 2026
At this point virat kohli should make a private insta id so he doesn’t have to blame algorithm for liking other women’ pictures. pic.twitter.com/u825OkbgKs
— daksh. (@mythicbxrn) April 17, 2026
Just Imagine Virat Kohli blaming algorithm again in front of Anushka Sharma and she replies with “Is dafa to tu rehne hi de😭” pic.twitter.com/EXbSeWkW7n
— Javedd (@iamthejaved) April 16, 2026
Virat Kohli just liked a German vloger’s post😱
Another algorithm glitch from virat kohli 😔
Mark Zuckerberg should resign now asap. pic.twitter.com/T9vc7u0onQ
— Mr SP (@Lonely_prabh) April 16, 2026
another algorithm registered an interaction paragraph loading from virat kohli https://t.co/Z4Fl5HK7rY pic.twitter.com/R4DWzZpopG
— ϯαηѵεεɾ (@KindaSabrful) April 16, 2026
Virat Kohli liked this photo..
He is playing just different game..ALGORITHM GAME🥲#viratkohli #algorithm #MIvsPBKS #bumrah #shreyasiyar
I u want to know girl’s id comment ? pic.twitter.com/sDIAtwKEnl
— VINTAGE-भारत 🇮🇳 (@VINATGE_INDIA) April 16, 2026
“while clearing my feed, it appears the algorithm may have mistakenly registered an interaction.”
– Virat Kohli pic.twitter.com/ipW0yt8ubw
— Cherry 🌹🌙 (@Hawakazoka_) April 16, 2026
Algorithm strikes ft. Virat Kohli pic.twitter.com/M6672tVMdt
— Ananya (@Anusthesia_) April 16, 2026
