Srinagar, Aug. 11 -- A SIM card mix-up in a Chhattisgarh village turned into a surreal brush with cricket stardom for 23-year-old Manish Bisi of Madagaon, Gariaband district. On June 28, Manish bought a new Jio SIM from a shop in Deobhog, unaware it had once belonged to RCB's Rajat Patidar.

When he and his friend Khemraj set up WhatsApp, they saw Patidar's profile photo but assumed it was a glitch. Then came calls from names that seemed too big to be real - Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Yash Dayal. At first, they thought it was a prank by friends. They even played along.

That changed on July 15 when Patidar himself called, pleading, "Brother, please return my SIM," and warning that police could get involved. Minutes later, officers arriv...