Short answer: No. Virat Kohli has never made a public statement supporting Israel, or Palestine for that matter. As of August 2026, there is no record of him visiting Israel, donating to Israeli causes, endorsing an Israeli brand, or taking any side in the Israel-Hamas war. His only brushes with the topic were passive: a pro-Palestinian fan breached security and hugged him on the field during a 2023 World Cup match, and a fake Instagram screenshot once falsely claimed he had posted in solidarity with Gaza. Neither reflects Kohli's own views.
What Virat Kohli has actually said and done
November 5-6, 2023: A fabricated Instagram "story" screenshot began circulating online, claiming Kohli had dedicated his 49th ODI century to those affected by the Israel-Hamas war, with text reading "In solidarity with Gaza." No such story ever appeared on Kohli's verified account. Fact-checkers at BOOM Live and India TV News both traced the image and confirmed it was a hoax.
November 19, 2023: During the ICC Cricket World Cup final in Ahmedabad, a pro-Palestinian fan breached stadium security, ran onto the pitch wearing a Palestinian-flag-colored face mask and a shirt reading "Stop Bombing Palestine" and "Save Palestine," and reached Kohli mid-play before being removed. The fan later told reporters he did it because he "supports Palestine." Kohli himself made no public comment on the incident. It was reported by the Times of Israel and The Print.
Why this question even comes up
Virat Kohli is one of the most famous athletes in the world, India's former Test and ODI captain, with well over 270 million Instagram followers, which is exactly why fringe claims about him attach easily and travel fast. Two things account for essentially all "Kohli and Israel" search traffic: a debunked fake screenshot from November 2023 that falsely put pro-Gaza language in his mouth, and a real but passive incident days later where an activist, not Kohli, used a World Cup broadcast moment to make his own statement by running up and hugging him. Outside of those two episodes, there is no reporting connecting Kohli to Israel: no visit, no donation, no endorsement of an Israeli company, no public comment on October 7 or the war that followed, and no Jewish-identity connection of any kind. Indian celebrities broadly tend to stay out of Israel-Palestine commentary, and Kohli fits that pattern. His public life centers on cricket, his family, and a large but religiously and politically uncontroversial endorsement portfolio, brands like Puma, Audi, and Hero MotoCorp.
The bottom line
Virat Kohli does not support Israel, and he does not support Palestine either, at least not publicly. He has stayed silent on the conflict. The "Kohli backs Gaza" story that circulates online is a confirmed hoax, and the one real incident tying his name to the topic was a fan's unsolicited protest, not his own act or word.
Show your own support for Israel
Kohli may be staying out of it, but you don't have to. If you want to make your own position clear, our I Stand With Israel collection has pieces built for exactly that, including the I Stand With Israel bracelet, a simple, everyday way to say where you stand without saying a word.
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Last updated August 2026. We update these profiles as the record changes.
