The past few weeks have been about the Indian cricket team, and in that, some players, specifically. This is because of the performances match after match – Virat Kohli’s is an exhibit. The ICC Men’s World Cup 2023 has so far witnessed Virat Kohli (among other players, of course) in top-notch form. Understandably, fans and viewers couldn’t stop talking about it. However, today’s match witnessed a turn around in this treatment. This happened after Kohli was dismissed for a duck in the match against England in Lucknow today.
Kohli was the second batsman to be dismissed, after the ball went directly into the hands of the fielder stationed at mid-off. People on the internet were saddened. It’s normal to have a reaction, however it’s disheartening when this reaction comes off in unethical ways and forms. A number of cricket fans started trolling the player for not scoring any run.
After he left the field, post his innings, Virat Kohli was seemingly frustrated. Later, viewers noticed him eating – and pointed that he shouldn’t have the “audacity” to eat. It’s problematic when people start trolling players if their performance is not up to the mark. This is especially weird when these are the same people who celebrate the players when they end up scoring well. It’s like we don’t respect the sportspersons, and only care about them when they get us a win – which is well, selfish.
This trolling is particularly an overreaction, given how India has been performing in this World Cup season. Not that it would be justified if that were not the case. Clearly, we don’t get the point of these games, and there’s just a lot of hate out there. That said, we shouldn’t be judging players on the basis of one match, one day or even just one bad moment.
It’d be so much better if we just took a game for a game.