Indian batsman Virat Kohli has been having an excellent T20 World Cup so far, with two outstanding unbeaten half-centuries in three games. The 33-year old played perhaps the all-time great T20 innings against Pakistan to take India to victory from a seemingly insurmountable position.
The player then followed it up with another fine knock of 65* against the Netherlands as Team India all but sealed qualification into the semi-finals of the marquee event. Although things did not go as per plan against South Africa, Virat will not be worried, after playing a couple of stunning drives to the fence before a Lungi Ngidi bouncer hurried on him, which led to his undoing.
However, the veteran was not at all amused after a video emerged with footage of his hotel room in Perth. Kohli revealed the shocking breach of privacy on October 31, after the video went viral. Upon further investigation, it was found out that the footage is from October 8, when India were stationed in Perth for a preparatory camp, including a couple of matches against teams from the Australian domestic circuit.
Kohli took to Instagram to share his thoughts on the matter, saying that he valued his privacy and that while he understood that the fans get excited, he expected the sanctity of his personal space not to be invaded.
“I understand that fans get very happy and excited seeing their favourite players and get excited to meet them and I’ve always appreciated that. But this video here is appalling and it’s made me feel very paranoid about my privacy.
If I cannot have privacy in my own hotel room, then where can I really expect any personal space at all? I’m not okay with this kind of fanaticism and absolute invasion of privacy. Please respect people’s privacy and not treat them as a commodity for entertainment.”
Kohli wrote.
The hotel in question, Crown Towers, has since apologised to Kohli for the frightening incident.
“We unreservedly apologise to the guest involved and will continue to take the necessary steps to ensure this remains an isolated incident. Crown has taken immediate steps to rectify the issue.
The individuals involved have been stood down and removed from the Crown account, and the original video was swiftly removed from the social media platform,”
the management of Crown Towers said in their statement.
The ICC has also stepped in with a statement of their own regarding the matter, apologising to Kohli. The governing council also promised to work closely with the hotels to ensure the safety and privacy of the players.
