Arijit Singh sent shockwaves through the music fraternity on Tuesday after announcing that he is stepping away from playback singing, a decision that left fans, musicians and filmmakers stunned. As reactions poured in across social media, old posts by cricketer Virat Kohli resurfaced, once again highlighting his long-standing admiration for the singer.Soon after Arijit’s announcement, a tweet shared by Kohli in 2016 began circulating online. In the post, dated January 26, 2016, the former Indian captain had written, “I am probably one of the biggest fans of Arijit Singh. Mesmerized by his talent and soulful voice. I am short of words actually.” Another throwback post featuring a picture of Kohli with Arijit has also gone viral. The ace cricketer shared a photo with the singer and wrote, “Pure fanboy moment for me. What an amazing person he is. No one has captivated me with their voice like this man. God bless you Arijit.” Fans were quick to draw parallels between Arijit Singh’s unexpected announcement and Virat Kohli’s own surprise retirement from Test cricket last year. One user commented, “Arijit is the Virat Kohli of music. His retirement has left me in shock,” while another observed, “Both chose to retire when they were at the top of their game.”Some reactions took a humorous turn as well. One fan joked, “Kohli retired from tests. Arijit retired from singing. But ‘Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai’ is still playing on TV.”In his social media statement, Arijit clarified that his decision applies only to playback singing and not to music as a whole. He explained that he now wants to focus on Indian classical music and his own compositions. “I will make my own music. Will come up with my music whenever I am ready. I am going back to Indian Classical Music. I wanna go back to making music. I wanna start again,” he wrote.Responding to fans on X, Arijit also revealed that the decision had been in the works for a long time. “There is not one reason behind this, there are several reasons plus I have been trying to do this since a long time. Finally I have gathered the right courage,” he shared.Speaking about his creative restlessness, the singer added, “One of the reasons is simple, I get bored pretty quick, that’s why I keep changing arrangements of the same songs and perform them on stage. So here is the thing, I got bored. I need to do some other music to live.”He also mentioned his eagerness to see fresh voices emerge in the industry. “Another reason is I am excited to hear some singer come up and give me real motivation,” Arijit wrote.
