Sunil Gavaskar might not have expected his joke would lead to such dire consequences. After the veteran cricketer made a joke about Anushka Sharma during an IPL match, crediting her for husband Virat Kohli’s poor performance, the internet has been blowing up about the misogynistic undertones of his comment.
In light of the same, a post of Virat Kohli from four years ago is being re-shared by his fans. The post is dated March 28, 2016, when the two were dating. In his post he had condemned those trolling the actress for his performance at the cricket field. He wrote: “Shame on those people who have been having a go at anushka for the longest time and connecting every negative thing to her. Shame on those people calling themselves educated. Shame on blaming and making fun of her when she has no control over what i do with my sport.”
In his post, he also mentioned that Anushka motivates him and gives him more positivity. Saying that this message was ‘long time coming’, he added that all those who hide behind and take a dig at her should be ashamed. He said he is not asking them to respect him, but to have compassion and respect for her, asking how they’d feel if their girlfriends were publicly shamed and trolled like this.
Anushka’s name being dragged for Kohli’s poor performances is not new. From 2015 ODI world cup, to IPL performances – every time Kohli’s performance falters, people are quick to blame Anushka. This trend was unforeseen in cricket as rarely, if ever, any cricketer’s wife has been publicly blamed for their husband’s poor performance.
However, during 2016, the ridicule must have surpassed the threshold which Kohli could tolerate and he lashed at those insulting his ladylove. Four years from then, Anushka is yet again a part of conversations regarding his athletic skills.
This time around, the pregnant actress spoke out against the senior commentator. She did it politely, but mentioned that even in 2020, why should she be mentioned during a commentary about her husband.
Many people are trying to defend Sunil. They say his words were taken out of context and being manipulated. Sunil is yet to respond.
