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Cricket may be India’s religion, but gossip is its second innings. And for nearly a decade, one name has been forcefully drafted into every match-day narrative without ever picking up a bat, Anushka Sharma.
Married to India’s cricket superstar Virat Kohli, she has been unwillingly turned into the nation’s most overused meme template. From unnecessary camera pans in the stands, to trolls calling her the ‘bad luck charm,’ to social media debates that flare up faster than a Rohit Sharma six, her presence has been milked for drama more than half of Bollywood’s Monday releases.
Now, in 2025, enter the newest player in this absurdly long-running soap opera: Mrunal Thakur, an actress with talent, timing… and apparently a taste for controversy. Her resurfaced remarks about Anushka and the 2016 film Sultan have reignited the Bollywood, cricket crossover war, turning social media into a WWE ring where popcorn is mandatory. Add to this her already questionable history with off-hand digs at Bipasha Basu and you have a perfect storm of shade, sass, and self-goals.
This is not just a story about one actress versus another, it’s about the way Bollywood egos, cricket’s mass hysteria and social media’s appetite for spice collide in glorious chaos. So buckle up, because this saga has everything: missed opportunities, casting couch trivia, mean-girl energy, Reddit roast sessions, and the eternal curse that Anushka can’t seem to escape, being dragged into a drama she never signed up for.
Anushka Sharma: A decade as Cricket's unwilling '12th Man'
If there were ever a Guinness World Record for ‘most unnecessary cutaway shots during cricket broadcasts,’ Anushka Sharma would be the undisputed, undefeated champion. Since 2015, every time Virat Kohli took guard, the broadcasters acted as though the match had two protagonists, one at the crease, one in the stands.
A Kohli boundary? Show Anushka clapping. A Kohli dismissal? Zoom in on her disappointed face. Forget the fact that Anushka wasn’t batting, bowling, fielding, or even chewing gum on the sidelines; in the grand narrative of Indian cricket, she was forcibly drafted in as the invisible twelfth player, saddled with more screen time than half the slip cordon.
Worse, trolls transformed her into cricket’s unofficial scapegoat. Kohli gets out for a duck? Clearly Anushka’s fault. Kohli misses a cover drive? Must be because she distracted him at breakfast. As if Mitchell Johnson’s bouncers or James Anderson’s swing were mere extras in Anushka‘s alleged hex.
Over the years, her name trended so relentlessly that it became a ritual, as reliable as the toss. She was not just Virat’s wife; she was reduced to a meme, a mascot, an unwilling cricketing talisman. And the cruel irony? This is an actress who had carved out a serious career with films like Band Baaja Baaraat, NH10, and Pari. Yet in the warped imagination of cricket fans, she was forever the ’12th man’ – unpaid, uncredited, and unfairly scrutinized.
Enter Mrunal Thakur: From Super 30 to 'Super Shady' remarks
Enter stage left: Mrunal Thakur, an actress whose journey from TV soaps to respected Bollywood projects had earned her goodwill, until her own words handed her a one-way ticket into controversy-ville. In a resurfaced interview, she described how she had once rejected certain roles she ‘wasn’t ready for,’ one of which later turned into a blockbuster. Then came the kicker: ‘Then she is not working at the moment, but I am, is itself a victory.’
The sentence landed with the subtlety of a steel chair in a WWE match. The internet’s Sherlocks got to work, and within minutes, the cryptic ‘she’ was decoded: Anushka Sharma, and the film in question was Sultan. Cue the outrage. Social media didn’t just raise eyebrows; it raised an army of memes, think-pieces, and clapbacks accusing Mrunal of ‘punching up’ at a senior actress who was on a professional break by choice, not compulsion.
Suddenly, her respectable résumé (Super 30, Jersey, Sita Raman) became background noise, drowned out by accusations of insecurity and arrogance. What might have been a throwaway remark in a long interview had, thanks to the internet’s love of drama, transformed her from ‘talented rising star’ into ‘Bollywood’s accidental mean girl.’ And just like that, she wasn’t simply an actress anymore, she was the newest recruit into the circus of shade that has stalked Anushka Sharma for a decade.
Mrunal could have avoided that last part , she really gives out mean girl energy …. pic.twitter.com/cUsaaJwsxp
— ash 💅 (@ashilikeit) August 31, 2025
Sultan flashback: When Salman Khan spilled the casting secret
Of course, the twist here is that none of this was new information. The ‘casting swap’ had been public knowledge ever since Salman Khan casually let slip on Bigg Boss 15 that Mrunal was the original frontrunner for Sultan’s Aarfa. Producers, however, felt that Anushka looked more convincing as a wrestler, her tall frame, athletic build, and fierce screen presence tipping the scales.
Mrunal, who had at the time lost significant weight and was still in her post-TV transition phase, didn’t fit the director’s vision. These things happen in Bollywood all the time, roles pass hands, careers zigzag, casting choices evolve. But instead of letting Sultan remain a ‘what could have been,’ Mrunal seems to carry the rejection like an unhealed scar, bringing it up years later with the air of unfinished business.
The irony? Sultan went on to become one of Anushka Sharma’s defining films, not just commercially but critically, with praise for how she held her own against Salman in a testosterone-fueled wrestling drama. Anushka didn’t just ‘get’ the role; she owned it. For Mrunal to frame her absence as a ‘victory’ feels less like confidence and more like revisionist history. By digging up this old grave, she didn’t just open a harmless trivia vault, she handed the internet a loaded bazooka aimed squarely at herself.
The larger picture: Bollywood, Cricket and the ritual of dragging Anushka
And through it all, the most fascinating part remains: Anushka Sharma has said nothing. Not a word, not a cryptic Instagram post, not even a passive-aggressive ‘sources close to the actress’ leak. Yet here she is, once again, at the center of a firestorm she didn’t ignite. This has always been her fate at the strange intersection of cricket and Bollywood: lauded when Virat Kohli scores a century, vilified when he gets bowled for single digits, and dragged into gossip wars when she’s not even in the room.
The Bollywood machine, obsessed with pitting women against each other, and the cricketing machine, obsessed with linking her to every Virat storyline, have together created a bizarre phenomenon: Anushka as the eternal ‘headline without consent.’ Meanwhile, Mrunal’s remarks have only reinforced a cultural truth, that Anushka’s silence carries more power than most actresses’ press conferences.
If cricket has umpires, Bollywood has karma. And karma here is brutal: every time someone tries to leverage Anushka for clout, the boomerang doesn’t just return, it smacks louder than a Kohli cover drive. From 2015 to 2025, Anushka remains the crossover queen of cricket banter, not by choice, but by the sheer absurdity of being the name everyone can’t stop invoking.
Frequently Asked Questions
Mrunal Thakur made a subtle yet sharp dig during an interview, indirectly referring to Anushka Sharma’s influence in cricket, Bollywood crossovers. Without naming her directly, Mrunal’s comment hinted at how some star wives often stay in the spotlight beyond films, which many linked straight to Anushka.
The term “Sultan dig” comes from Anushka Sharma’s film Sultan with Salman Khan, which was released in 2016. Mrunal’s remark nine years later is being described as a throwback jab tied to that movie title, making it both witty and explosive in media circles.
Since 2015, Anushka Sharma has often faced unnecessary trolling or mentions whenever Virat Kohli’s cricketing form fluctuated. Over the years, her presence at matches and her influence in the public eye have remained a frequent talking point, keeping her name in cricket debates.
As of now, Anushka Sharma has not issued any public response. Known for her calm and private approach, she usually avoids engaging in direct spats, letting speculation and media buzz fade over time.
The crossover between cricket and Bollywood has always fascinated the public, especially when India’s biggest superstar cricketer, Virat Kohli, and a top Bollywood actress, Anushka Sharma, are involved. Adding Mrunal Thakur’s bold remark after nine years only reignited debates, fueling headlines across both industries.
