DUBAI, Sep 25:
Sunil Gavaskar on Friday found himself in the midst of a controversy for a comment on India skipper Virat Kohli and his wife Anushka Sharma but the legendary batsman asserted that his remarks, construed as sexist, were misinterpreted.
Kohli had a bad day in office on Thursday when he led Royal Challengers Bangalore against Kings XI Punjab in an IPL match. He dropped two catches of rival skipper KL Rahul and managed only a run off five balls in RCB’s chase.
While Kohli was still at crease, Gavaskar said ‘India captain is keen to improve and he knows that he can do so only by practicing more and more’. He then added that ‘during the lockdown Kohli faced only Anushka’s bowling and it is showing that it did not help much’. Gavaskar was speaking in Hindi when he made the comment. However, the comment did not go down well with Kohli and Anushka’s fans and some even demanded his sacking from Star Sports commentary panel, lashing out at him on social media.
Reacting to it, Anushka also issued a statement on her Instagram page and said that Gavaskar’s message was “distasteful”. She was livid that her name was unnecessarily mentioned by a respected personality like him.
She wrote, “That, Mr Gavaskar, your message is distasteful is a fact but I would love for you to explain why you thought of making such a sweeping statement on a wife accusing her for her husband’s game?.” “I am sure over the years you have respected the private lives of every cricketer while commentating on the game. Don’t you think you should have equal amount of respect for me and us?” “I am sure you can have many words and sentences in your mind to use to comment on my husband’s performance from last night or are your words only relevant if you use my name in the process?” “……Respected Mr. Gavaskar, you are a legend whose name stands tall in this gentleman’s game. Just wanted to tell you what I felt when I heard you say this.” Gavaskar though said his comments were not understood in right context. (PTI)
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