There were more than 15,000 fans on day 1 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium to watch Virat Kohli. The number fell to approximately less than 10,000 on day 2. After Kohli got out, it was down to 1,000. On day 3, and Kohli was fielding, mind you, the number was not even 1,000. What does this tell you? If these fans wanted to watch Kohli, why did they not turn up on day 3 as well? Or was it all hype created in the lead-up to the game, and post-day 1, it all went back to square one? Can Kohli help sustain fan interest in domestic cricket? From the evidence at hand, day 3 was a damp squib despite his presence, and that’s what begs the question – do we really love the sport, or is it all hype?
When we bring into the discussion the kind of trolling Himanshu Sangwan had to endure, this argument becomes most potent. He did exactly the right thing by celebrating the wicket. He got Kohli out – one of the best Indian batters ever – and was well within his rights to express himself. In fact, had he not done so, it would have looked staged. It was his job to get Kohli out, and he did. And Kohli himself would be the first to admit that he has celebrated hundreds of wickets more aggressively than Sangwan ever will.
The bile directed at Sangwan for daring to dismiss Kohli and then celebrate it was plain disgusting. That’s what social media is all about. It is a cesspit of filth. Trolls create havoc and unmitigated abuse gets a free run. Sangwan should remember that delivery all his life and celebrate it. He has absolutely no reason to be apologetic about either the dismissal or his reaction to it.
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The Sangwan abuse is proof that we don’t love the sport in India. Rather, we are obsessed with the stars. And that’s where Indian cricket loses out. In a country of 1.3 billion, it is but natural that there will be a section that always vents its frustration. With nothing going for them, they turn to social media. These are the ones who abused Sangwan. They are anything but cricket fans.
For Kohli, the writing is pretty much clear. His red-ball game needs work. Major work. The question is, with all the white-ball cricket coming up over the next four months, does he have the time to do remedial work on the red-ball flaws? To do better in England just weeks after the IPL ends, he will need red-ball time. That’s the real challenge for him going forward.
As for the trolls, all will be well after a decent white-ball innings from Virat. Or, for that matter, Rohit Sharma. It will be conveniently overlooked that white-ball cricket has no bearing on Test form. The problems will remain, and however much these cheerleading trolls want us to think otherwise, the red-ball form of both men remains a serious concern. Playing one Ranji Trophy match each hasn’t helped, and for the moment, both will do well to focus on the white ball and the Champions Trophy.
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