Opinion | Unfortunate trolls, Virat Kohli owes you nothing

Indian cricket legends who are performing poorly receive all the remarks. Whether it was Sachin, Ganguly, or Dhoni, everyone received criticism when they weren't doing well. Virat Kohli, one of the best batters of the modern age, is also on this list of legends.

In all formats of the game, Kohli has hit 70 hundreds, but he hasn't in the past three years. In a T20I game against the West Indies in December 2019, he had a best score of 94 not out.

At a time when Kohli is receiving ruthless trolling because his performance has not been up to par, one thing to keep in mind is that trolls never target celebrities for their poor performance alone.

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Actress Anushka Sharma, then girlfriend of Kohli, was blamed for the Indian team's elimination from the cricket World Cup, despite Kohli's strong performance in the 2015 World Cup.

And in a statement, Virat Kohli said that "the stuff that happened after the World Cup semi-final, the way people reacted towards my personal life and Anushka in particular, was really disrespectful. I want to put this out in public because at the human level, I was really hurt,".

The 'online India' is changing, and it's for the worse this time. We once aimed to be a centre of information for the entire world, but we are now deteriorating into a sewer of gleeful ignorance, haughtiness, and violent trolling. View the timeline of your Twitter account.

It will be controlled by young, incensed internet bundle users who take joy in the label of "Troll." It would seem that they would exchange any sense of sanity, empathy, and common civility for a few likes and retweets.

I think we've lost sight of the fact that civility is crucial to democracy somewhere. When we speak and express without using basic research and critical thinking, we as a country violate our constitutional rights to free speech and expression.

The way ideas are expressed regarding cricket is one area where this trend is most obvious. Sometimes, cricket fans have been described as "toxic" by people due to a combination of conceit and ignorance.

Fans are certainly entitled to their opinions and criticism, but it is indefensibly rude to constantly disparage the cricket teams of countries on the basis of sociopolitical issues in those nations.

To take matters to an unprecedented level of travesty, we have started abusing and harassing our own players now. Idiotically named cliques like "Rohitians" and "Viratians" regularly go at each other, and even target the families of these cricketers who, in all fairness, owe us next to nothing.

The one man who is bearing the brunt of this new trend the most is Virat Kohli. The former Indian captain, who was once hailed as the nation’s biggest star, is now being trolled almost every day.

Cricket players are occasionally kept in teams not just because of their particular skills but also because of their experience and competitive spirit.

Cricket is not just about a player's individual effectiveness as a batter or bowler; a player's improved cricketing sense also greatly benefits the team. Dhoni's cricket acumen, for instance, has benefited Team India. Kohli was not only one of the best batters, but he was also a successful skipper and a good fielder.

In difficult circumstances, his experience aids Team India.

It is well known that, by his own high standards, he has struggled to impress with the bat over the last three years, but to those who wish death and misery upon him for this reason, I ask a question.

How will you feel if you are sworn at and ridiculed if you fail your NEET, JEE or UPSC exams twice or thrice? Would you expect support, or a summary trial and execution?

Expression is simple. The challenging aspect is thinking before speaking. You owe Virat Kohli nothing. Adjust to it. If you mock him unnecessarily or use foul language, all you come off as is a disgruntled person who will never amount to anything more than the 100 likes and 200 retweets that your terrible words garner.

(Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.)

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