A file photograph of Virat Kohli
India captain Virat Kohli has responded for the first time after he received a huge backlash for asking an enthusiast to "leave the country" if he did not like to watch Indian cricketers in action. Kohli, in a tweet, clarified that he is "all for freedom of choice".
"I guess trolling isn't for me guys, I'll stick to getting trolled! I spoke about how "these Indians" was mentioned in the comment and that's all. I’m all for freedom of choice. Keep it light guys and enjoy the festive season. Love and peace to all," Kohli tweeted.
Kohli on Wednesday found himself embroiled in a controversy over his "I don't think you should live in India" response to an enthusiast who called the skipper overrated while expressing his admiration for English and Australian batsmen.
In a video that went viral for all the wrong reasons and available on his newly released app, Kohli was reading tweets and Instagram messages before coming across an user, who said the Indian mainstay has nothing special in his batting.
"Over-rated batsman and personally I see nothing special in his batting. I enjoy watching English and Australian batsmen more than these Indians," Kohli read out the cricket enthusiast's tweet.
Far from being pleased with the fan's observation, Kohli responded, "Okay, I don't think you should live in India then you should go and live somewhere else, no? Why are you living in our country and loving other countries? I don't mind you not liking me but I don't think you should live in our country and like other things. Get your priorities right."
Kohli launched his mobile app on his 30th birthday on November 5.
His remarks did not go down well with the Twitterati who trolled him for making what they felt were unsavoury comments.
A batsman par excellence with a plethora of records to his name, Kohli recently became the fastest batsman to score 10,000 ODI runs. The Indian captain achieved the milestone in just 205 innings, bettering Sachin Tendulkar's previous record of 259 innings. He was in red-hot form and finished the five-match series as the top run-getter with 453 runs at an average of 151.00.
He also slammed a hat-trick of centuries in the first three ODIs, another first for an Indian.
Before the ODI series against the West Indies, he was very impressive on the England tour where he scored more than 500 runs even as his teammates struggled.
Kohli was recently praised by West Indies legend Brian Lara and former South Africa captain Graeme Smith for his insatiable hunger for success.
