Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma spend New Year's Eve with Hardik Pandya & Natasa Stankovic

The COVID-19 pandemic cast a dark shadow over New Year's Eve celebrations on Thursday and many people preferred to stay in their homes on the occasion. Indian captain Virat Kohli and cricketer Hardik Pandya chose to do the same.

Kohli took to his Twitter handle on Friday to share some pictures from his cosy dinner with a few friends at home and joining him was Hardik Pandya and wife Natasa Stankovic, along with some other friends. Twinning in shades of black, Virat wrote, "Friends who test negative together spend positive time together! Nothing like a get together at home with friends in a safe environment." [sic]

The Indian skipper recently led the Men in Blue to a T20 series victory against Australia after India's defeat in the ODI series. Kohli also captained India in the first Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy before returning back home for the birth of his first child.

Virat Kohli & Sachin Tendulkar lead wishes as India register famous win against Australia

Friends who test negative together spend positive time together! ☺️ Nothing like a get together at home with friends in a safe environment. May this year bring a lot of hope, joy, happiness and good health. Stay safe! #HappyNewYear2021 pic.twitter.com/EyFcUBLqMi

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) January 1, 2021

Kohli adjudged ICC Men's ODI Cricketer of the Decade

After making his debut for the national team in 2008, Virat Kohli has played 87 Tests, 251 ODIs and 85 T20Is ever since. In Tests, he has plundered 7,318 runs at an average of 53.41 and in ODIs, he has stockpiled 12,040 runs at a prolific rate of 59.31. With 2,928 runs, he is the leading run-getter in the world in international T20 matches and is the only player to simultaneously hold an average of 50-plus across all three formats. 

While the Indian captain bagged the ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Decade, he also won the coveted Sir Garfield Sobers Award for ICC Men's Cricketer of the Decade. Moreover, Kohli also featured in the ICC Test, T20I and ODI teams of the year and was chosen as the captain in the longest format of the game. 

In a video message, Kohli said, "I never strive to be better than everybody else. I just wanted to be the best version of myself and I am proud to receive this award because I know the number of quality players that have played in the last decade and what they bring to international cricket as well. It's not a sense of feeling superior to anyone, it is just that I feel this is a recognition of the perseverance and hard work that I have put in the last 10 years and will continue to do so in the future as well." 

Skipper Virat Kohli lauds stand-in Ajinkya Rahane for incredible ton on India-Aus Day 2