AUS v IND 2020-21: "Nobody has the right to troll him" - Pragyan Ojha supports Virat Kohli on his paternity leave

Virat Kohli had decided to come back well before the tour had even commenced.

A dejected Virat Kohli walks off | Getty

Indian skipper Virat Kohli has been facing a lot of flak on social media for coming back home right after Team India faced an embarrassing defeat at the hands of Australia in Adelaide. Former Indian cricketer Pragyan Ojha has come out in support of the Indian skipper amidst all the online 'trolling'.

Virat Kohli had made this decision way back and all the players, BCCI, and the fans knew about him coming back for an important occasion in his life. Therefore, Ojha believes that the criticism is unfair on the player.

Ojha said on Sports Today YouTube, "We have to respect somebody’s personal life. Whenever someone takes a decision, it is their call. He (Virat Kohli) was very clear that he wants to be there (for the birth of his child). His wife needs his support. And the message was sent to the BCCI before the tour started."

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"After losing the match, suddenly talking ill about the captain or anybody, and dragging their families in, is something very concerning. How can you drag anybody’s family into all this? Don’t drag their personal life into their professional one. These two things should be separated," he added.

The former spinner also took into account that the trolling might have been spurred due to the embarrassing batting effort in the second innings but believes that it is not Kohli's fault as he had already planned to go back after the first Test.

Ojha said, "It is not like he wants to come back in the middle of the series, he had taken a call earlier. And the BCCI has rightfully given him that space. So, now why (the questioning)? Just because we lost the game. Yes, we are all in pain, we are all upset that we lost the Test match. But that doesn’t give us a right or anybody who is trolling, to do what they are doing."

(With inputs from Sports Today YouTube)

 
 

By Sameer Deodhar - 22 Dec, 2020

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