“Attacking someone over religion is most pathetic”: Virat Kohli gives cold shoulder to Mohammad Shami trolls

Mohammad Shami trolls: The Indian captain was vocal about “spineless” trolls attacking his fast bowler over religion.

India captain Virat Kohli has acknowledged that toss will be a “big factor” in their second ICC T20 World Cup 2021 match against New Zealand in Dubai tomorrow. Speaking during a pre-match virtual press conference, Kohli mentioned that the Indian team is “itching” to play a match after a week-long break.

“It will continue to be a big factor and that is the nature of the tournament. For us, our only focus is on how those 11 individuals are placed to win. It’s been a long wait for us. Now we are itching to go back to park,” Kohli told the reporters on Saturday.

A couple of primary reasons why toss hold vital importance at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium is the dew factor and the general tendency of teams preferring to chase at this venue.

India, who were found wanting against Pakistan speedster Shaheen Shah Afridi in the tournament-opener on Sunday, will face a similar challenge in the form of New Zealand fast bowler Trent Boult tomorrow. Given the Indian batters’ recent history of struggling against left-arm pacers in big matches, Boult would be eager to take the new ball against them.

“We are obviously going to come up against quality bowlers. It all depends on how we take the field and the mentality. If he [Trent Boult] is motivated to emulate Shaheen [Shah Afridi], we are motivated to counter him. We have played against them for a long time,” Kohli said with confidence.

Virat Kohli gives cold shoulder to Mohammad Shami trolls

A 10-wicket loss against arch-rivals Pakistan had it in it to bring severe criticism towards the Indian team. While criticism based on on-field performance is still acceptable, people had targeted India fast bowler Mohammed Shami on the basis of his religion.

Kohli, who isn’t known to mince his words, gave a cold shoulder to “spineless trolls” saying that attacking someone over their religion is the “most pathetic”.

“There’s a reason we are playing on the field and not those spineless people. It is so unfortunate and sad to see people getting entertained. That is why we are doing what we are and those spineless people are doing what they are.

ALSO READ: Mohammad Rizwan lends support to Mohammed Shami over latter facing unnecessary criticism

“To me, attacking someone over their religion is the most pathetic thing a human being can do. Religion is a very sacred to an individual. People take out frustrations because they don’t have any idea how much we put effort into the field,” Kohli further said.