His reply had all the polish of a Rishabh Pant hack at an unplayable ball as opposed to the controlled aggression of his own batting

That Kohli is starting to transcend the sport of cricket is without doubt, and it is almost a certainty now that by the time he hangs up his boots, he will be compared to giants who redefined their sport like Usain Bolt, Roger Federer, Lionel Messi and Michael Jordan.

Statistically, he is in  league of his own, heads-and-shoulders above most of his peers.

However, the rise of Virat Kohli the GOAT seems to be directly proportional to the emergence of his annoying off-the-field avatar, one that feels like the personification of the expletive he loves to shout in moments of joy or sorrow.

The angry young man of international cricket, one who didn’t think twice before flipping the bird at an audience, refuses to leave the insouciant kid behind. The tenacity which makes him such a delight on the field, becomes an ugly spectacle off it.

Now Kohli has a way of triggering our common, average or garden Twitter ‘liberal’ who think minorities will be under threat if India wins the World Cup. From promoting Swachh Bharat by publicly shaming a litterer to showing off his economic chops by hailing demonetization, Kohli has a way of getting their goat.

But there are aspects of Kohli’s behaviour which rankle even the lovers of the game, the most heinous of which was the alleged treatment meted out legend and coach Anil Kumble. Actions like this continue to bolster the image that he is now not only the most powerful man in Indian cricket, but also an autocrat who brooks no dissent.

But his latest revelation, where he showed a hitherto-unseen hyper-nationalistic avatar, has transcended Twitter and become a talking point across drawing rooms and cricket maidans across the country.

One really didn’t expect Kohli to take a leaf out of the Trumpian worldview of UK conservative politician Norman Tebbit or Pakistan’s Taliban which had ‘warned its media’ for praising Tendulkar during his retirement.

Just like Tebbit suggested that South Asian and Caribbean immigrants who supported their motherland against England in cricket weren’t ‘integrated enough’, Kohli lashed out at a fan who said he enjoyed ‘watching English and Australian cricketers more’.

“Over-rated batsman and personally I see nothing special in his batting. I enjoy watching English and Australian batsmen more than these Indians,” Kohli read out the cricket enthusiast’s tweet.

Far from being pleased with the fan’s observation, Kohli responded, “Okay, I don’t think you should live in India then you should go and live somewhere else, no? Why are you living in our country and loving other countries? I don’t mind you not liking me, but I don’t think you should live in our country and like other things. Get your priorities right.”

Perhaps it is an overdose of Manyavar ads which have hit fever pitch during Diwali week, but Virat Kohli seems to have taken his desi nationalist avatar too seriously, one that even his U-19 World Cup winning wunderkind version begged to differ with. The same Kohli who resembles thuggish politicians who ask people to leave the country, once revered Herschelle Gibbs.

Now let’s be clear, the fan’s opinion is as uninformed as believing that earth is flat or that that the sun revolves around it.

Kohli is not like the quintessentially selfish Indian batsmen of yore, whose innings would hit a snail’s pace when they entered the nervous 90s.

His mind is thoroughly uncluttered, particularly when he is chasing like an Arjun-and-eye-of-the bird determination, as evidenced in the ODI match against West Indies where didn’t even take a 2^nd run to complete his century because he wanted to keep strike.

Perhaps it was the fallout of being a cocooned Indian celebrity, who lives in his impenetrable bubble as Harsha Bhogle pointed out, and isn’t meant to do Jimmy Kimmel-style mean tweets, which require a level of self-awareness and detachment.

While Hollywood celebrities generally show a certain grace when replying to anonymous hate, Kohli’s reply showed the ugly underbelly that lies beneath the veneer of his chiselled abs.

His reply had all the polish of a Rishabh Pant hack at an unplayable ball as opposed to the controlled aggression of his own batting. While there are some who’d argue that we are perhaps making mountains out of molehills, his comments have to be taken into context of the troublesome and divisible world we live in, where ethno-nationalism is a serious issue, where the oppressed are continuously othered. The Sith-style absolutist view is troublesome, more so the influence he has over nubile minds.

He is a national icon – broadcast –  thanks to ubiquitous data, into every single screen, an idol that is revered beyond anyone in India at any point in time.

Of course Kohli, as flamboyant BJP MP Subramanian Swamy pointed out his perfectly entitled to his views, and his freedom of expression. But so are fans of the game. Cricket would be much poorer if our love of the art stopped at our border, in fact, it wouldn’t even be played.

If only Indians loved cricket and watched our compatriots play, we’d end up with RCB playing KKR in a baseball-style final which is, unironically, called World Series.

Kohli, because of his standing in the game, ought to measure his words. It doesn’t behove an icon to behave with such chagrin.

We love Roger Federer not just because he is the greatest to ever hold a tennis racket, but because he exhibited grace and charm off and on the field, showing that magnanimity goes hand in hand with skill off the field.

Perhaps Kohli ought be borrowing a leaf from his playbook, instead of one from known racists and bigots.

Update:

Virat Kohli responded to the comments with an emoji-laden explanation: “I guess trolling isn’t for me guys, I’ll stick to getting trolled! I spoke about how “these Indians” was mentioned in the comment and that’s all. I’m all for freedom of choice.  Keep it light guys and enjoy the festive season. Love and peace to all.”