India’s star batter Virat Kohli has returned to his homeland after embracing fatherhood for the second time. He arrived at the Mumbai airport on Sunday (March 17).

The cricketing world buzzed with joy as Kohli and his actor-wife Anushka Sharma welcomed their son Akaay into their lives last month.

Kohli had pulled out of the India-England Test series citing "personal reasons." Subsequently, it was revealed that he took the break to attend the birth of his son in UK.

The 35-year-old is now set to join his franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for their training camp in preparation for the upcoming IPL 2024.

Ahead of the cash-rich tournament, RCB skipper Faf du Plessis spoke about the impact Virat Kohli had on his batting in the IPL.

"Batting is probably the other thing that we click on equally. You know, it is unbelievable batting with him. He's one of my favourite guys to bat with. He brings out so much energy in me, like sometimes, I feel like I'm fist-bumping my glove through his hand because he gets so passionate. Him being out there in the middle, which is really infectious, the way he gives that energy, and I remember being in the opposition and how that really is," Du Plessis told Star Sports.

Du Plessis also highlighted that Kohli brings the same amount of energy while fielding and his presence on the field holds matters a lot.

"Let's hope for that amount of energy, because it was like this guy is just always on. How did you manage it? So it's really infectious, the same thing on the field, because, like catching balls, we are both very competitive, and I make sure we get those good catches for the team. So he's really important to me in terms of the field. I think, indeed, so many things fast as a team. But fielding is, he said, so he sets the time for the energy on the field," he added.

RCB are due to begin their IPL 2024 campaign in the event opener against the defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Chepauk on March 22.