Irfan reacts when Anushka criticizes Gavaskar’s on-air comments | Courtesy: Anushka Shrma (Instagram) | PTI
Key points
- Sunil Gavaskar’s comments during the RCB vs KXIP match commentary on Virat Kohli sparked a lot of controversy
- Gavaskar’s comments on Anushka Sharma and Kohli appear to have been misquoted on social media.
- Seeing Gavaskar face anger, Irfan Pathan has called for more respect for the cricket icon.
Anushka Sharma called Sunil Gavaskar’s comment ‘disgusting’ when the former Indian captain’s ‘misquoted comment’ about the Bollywood actress spread like wildfire on social media. Certain translations from Hindi to English and then from English to Hindi seem to have given rise to a great controversy that was actually without foundation. While a section of fans and Anushka expressed disappointment at the Indian cricket legend’s choice of words, another former Indian cricketer, Irfan Pathan, jumped to Gavaskar’s defense asking people for “respect”.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) suffered a major loss to Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) on Thursday, with Kohli enduring one of his most disappointing outings both on the bat and on the field. During the course of the match, Gavaskar was commenting with Aakash Chopra in Hindi when Kohli went on to bat for RCB. The two commentators then discussed how Kohli did not have many opportunities to practice during the confinement, his cricket session at home being, the video of which went viral on social media, being the only case.
Netizens shared some misquoted and poorly translated comments on social media, giving Gavaskar’s comments a completely different meaning, prompting even Anushka to post an Instagram story with strong words for the original Little Master.
When Gavaskar began to be criticized all over social media, Irfan posted a subtle tweet asking those who did not respect the cricket icon to ‘always respect him’.
While ‘Inhone lockdown me toh bas Anushka ki gendon ki practice ki hai’, was the comment that went viral on social networks, here is the actual conversation that took place between Chopra and Gavaskar during the occasion:
Aakash Chopra: As all the players have stepped on the field after a long time, [you can] feel that the swords have rusted, they are not so ready. If you watch the IPL race [of Virat Kohli] – Has 5427 incomparable careers. But Sunny Bhai, who has not played cricket for 6-8 months, is not easy.
Sunil Gavaskar: Absolutely. He [Kohli] I did not have the opportunity to do the necessary practice. You know that the more you practice, the better you will get. When the confinement happened, he only practiced against Anuskha’s bowling alley, we have seen the video, but nothing is going to come out of that.
Aakash Chopra: He practiced in his apartment. There is no privacy at all. (People from the) nearby building also recorded a video.
Kohli himself has not said anything about it as he continues to stay away from the controversy. However, with RCB set to face the Mumbai Indians (MI) on Monday, the 31-year-old could comment on the matter during the pre-game or post-game talk.
