"I made a bit of a blunder in my previous show and I apologise to the Kohli family for that. Just not nice. I shared information that was not confirmed at all so," he said in his YouTube show.
"I am begging everyone out there to respect him and his family and his private time. Hopefully, we will see Virat back, happy and scoring runs. Like he always does," he added.
This statement after his dramatic U-turn to his claim that the reason for Kohli's absence from the first two Tests was that he was expecting a second child from his wife Anushka Sharma.
Yesterday, the BCCI announced the unavailability of Kohli for the remaining three Tests against England due to personal reasons.
"Virat Kohli will remain unavailable for selection for the remainder of the series due to personal reasons. The Board fully respects and supports Mr. Kohli's decision," the BCCI said in a release.
Amidst the unclarity over Kohli's absence, De Villiers said no one knows what exactly is going on with the star batsman.
"My friend Virat Kohli is still not available. I cry out to everybody to give him the privacy that he deserves. Family comes first. No one knows what exactly is going on. I am asking all of us to respect that," he said.
