- Thursday, April 18, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIA captain Virat Kohli has broken silence to lash out at those who abused fast bowler Mohammed Shami on social media following India’s 10-wicket loss to arch-rivals in their opening game in the T20 World Cup in Dubai, the UAE, on October 24.
Shami ended up as India’s most expensive bowler on the night as he conceded 43 runs in 3.5 overs. His social media accounts, particularly on Instagram, saw widespread abuse after the game, much of which was related to Islamophobia.
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However, none of the five Indian bowlers who bowled that night could pick a wicket.
“There’s a good reason why we are playing on the field and not some bunch of spineless people on social media that have no courage to actually speak to any individual in person,” Kohli said in Dubai on the eve of India’s crucial game against New Zealand, who also lost their opening game against Pakistan.
Mohammed Shami ‘horribly abused’ online after Pakistan defeat
“They hide behind their identities and go after people through social media, making fun of people and that has become a source of entertainment in today’s world, which is so unfortunate and sad to see because this is literally the lowest level of human potential that one can operate at, and that’s how I look at these people,” Kohli, who is known for his assertiveness, said.
“To me attacking someone over their religion is the most, I would say, pathetic thing that a human being can do. Everyone has the right to voice their opinion and what they feel about certain situations, but I personally have never ever even thought of discriminating [against] anyone over their religion. That is a very sacred and personal thing to every human being and that should be left there,” Kohli added.
He said the entire Indian team has rallied behind the pacer and that the team culture was so strong that those sorts of attacks had no chance of making an impact.
“People take out their frustrations because they have no understanding of what we do as individuals – they have no understanding of how much effort we put on the field,” Kohli said, adding, “They have no understanding of the fact that someone like Mohammed Shami has won India ‘n’ number of matches in the last few years and he’s been our primary bowler with Jasprit Bumrah when it comes to making an impact in games in Test cricket.
“I mean, if people can overlook that and his passion for the country, I honestly don’t even want to waste one minute of my life to give any attention to those people. Neither does Shami and neither does anyone else in the team. We stand by him fully. We are backing him 200 percent, and all those who have attacked him can come with more force if they want to: our brotherhood, our friendship within the team, nothing can be shaken. I can guarantee you that as the captain of the team, that we have built a culture where these things will not even infiltrate into this environment 0.0001%. That is an absolute guarantee from my side,” the captain said.
Kohli said that those who indulged in such attacks lacked courage and the barbs were coming out of frustration and lack of compassion.
Shami, 31, has taken 355 wickets for India in international cricket and also has a hat-trick in the 50-over World Cup.
A number of celebrities in India praised Kohli for his hard-hitting words in support of Shami. Actor and film-maker Farhan Akhtar shared Kohli’s remarks on Twitter and said: “Well said captain”.
Well said captain. 👍🏽👍🏽 pic.twitter.com/uQgiuBZUaF
— Farhan Akhtar (@FarOutAkhtar) October 30, 2021
Actor Swara Bhasker shared Kohli’s comments on Twitter with clapping emojis and filmmaker Sudhir Mishra wrote, “The captain has spoken!” Actors Sonam Kapoor and Richa Chadha also retweeted appreciation posts about Kohli.
👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 #ViratKohli pic.twitter.com/uYyRGu4pVE
— Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) October 30, 2021
