Kohli's 'leave India' response kicks up controversy

Agencies
November 8, 2018

New Delhi, Nov 8: Virat Kohli has 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 has gone viral for all the wrong reasons and available on his newly released app, Kohli was reading tweets and Instagram messages before coming across a 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 spent his birthday with wife Anushka Sharma in Haridwar.

Recently, Kohli 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.

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News Network
March 22,2024

IPL.jpg

The start of the world’s most lucrative cricket tournament in India is presenting investors with another big opportunity to cash in on the sport, months after the world’s most populous nation hosted the Cricket World Cup.

The eight-week long Indian Premier League begins March 22 for its 17th season. Since its inception, the fast-paced cricket tournament has become a corporate juggernaut to rival the National Football League in the US and the English Premier League in value.

Just as October’s Cricket World Cup boosted consumption in India for months, fans are expected to flock to restaurants, pubs and food delivery platforms over the duration of the tournament. This year’s IPL also coincides with general elections that will last for six weeks starting April 19, a period when companies are expecting higher food and drink sales as people flock to rallies and other events.

“There’s going to be a lot of spending,” said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Bank of Baroda. “IPL, as well as the election, gives a three-month corridor with enhanced economic activity.”

Stocks in India such as McDonald’s franchise operator Westlife Foodworld Ltd. and peer Sapphire Foods India Ltd. gained ahead of the first match on Friday, as well as hotels and beverage makers. Packaged-food companies could also stand to benefit from the IPL craze, said Sachil Bobade, an analyst at investment firm Dolat Capital Market.

The IPL ecosystem was valued at $11 billion (Rs 91,721 crores) in 2023, including the value of media rights and sponsorships, according to Indian valuation consulting firm D&P Advisory.

The league is also attracting record sums of money from sponsors and broadcasters. Conglomerate Tata Group won the title sponsorship rights of the tournament in January for a record 25 billion rupees ($300 million). Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s media venture secured the digital streaming rights in 2022 for five years for $2.7 billion, while Walt Disney Co. paid roughly the same for TV rights.

“There was a serious amount of bidding even this year,” said Vinit Karnik, head of entertainment, esports and sports at media agency GroupM South Asia. “I see growth in IPL in double digits year-on-year,” he adds.

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