Virat Kohli has once again spoken candidly about a subject that has long bothered him during the IPL — being constantly filmed and followed by cameras even during training. The Royal Challengers Bengaluru star said that while social media and digital content are now a major part of fan engagement and commercial growth, the process has gone a bit too far for players who simply want space to prepare in peace.
Speaking on an RCB podcast, Virat Kohli explained that the league and fan culture have evolved massively over the years, but the level of access around players has become difficult to manage. “Like social media is a huge part of the commercial representation or the fan engagement for any team, which is understandable,” Kohli said.
“But I honestly am hand on heart, I genuinely feel like there has to be a bit more streamlining, because if you look at the growth of the official fan clubs or the official fan pages of teams, it has taken place after a long period of time when the IPL was already in play. So it’s not a thing that people are ready for from day one. So immediately you walk to practice and you have six cameras following, it’s not a comfortable feeling at all. As a sportsperson, you need to have the ability and the freedom to work on your game in peace,” he added.
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Kohli also admitted that the constant scrutiny has changed the way players approach training sessions.
“If you, everything you do is an opportunity to film or display or to dissect, then you are not organic. I’m not going to be able to try to do things at practice, which I really want to do, because I know tomorrow if someone films it, and there are discussions on my practice sessions,” he said. “You judge me on my performances during the game. During the lead-up, no one has the right to judge me for what I’m doing in terms of my preparation, the things I’m trying in the nets.”
Kohli said he was irritated by Champak robot constantly filming him 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/3MZkchIljC
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“So, I just feel like there has to be a bit more streamlining in terms of understanding how much to do, when to do, and is the player okay with being filmed at all times? I think those kind of things really need to be taken into account because this is my honest assessment. It gets too much,” he added.
Kohli also recalled a recent moment involving Kane Williamson and the IPL’s robot dog during a conversation on the field.
“Like, I don’t like discussing. I was talking to Kane the other day. And there’s that robot thing, doing (waves hands), and I’m like, man. But I’m like, why is this guy doing this? I’m talking to him about something so serious, you know? I looked at him, and I ignored him. Then I told the guy, please take him away. Let me talk in peace,” Kohli revealed.
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“He’s my friend. I can’t have a conversation with him without it becoming a moment of ‘Kane Mama’ and ‘King Kohli’ meeting. He’s a friend, I’ve known him since our under-19 days. Bechara kuch baat kar raha hain. Mereko baat toh karne do. Kisise bahar ground pe miloge toh news ban jayegi. Thoda zyada hain. (Poor thing is saying something to me. Let me speak to him. If I go and meet someone on the ground, it becomes news. This is a bit too much),” he added.
