Former Indian captain Virat Kohli recently uploaded a video of his room being invaded in Australia, which was then shared online. Rahul Dravid, Team India's head coach, expressed his thoughts on the situation.
In his post, Kohli wrote, “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.”
Speaking at the pre-match press conference ahead of India’s match against Bangladesh, Dravid expressed his disappointment and said, “It’s obviously disappointing, it’s not very comfortable for anyone, let alone Virat.
"It's the one place where you feel you are away from prying eyes, hope to feel secure and safe, away from the media glare, when that is taken away it's not a nice feeling. He's dealt with it really well, he's fine and he's training," Dravid said.
Crown Towers, the hotel in which the Indian team was staying, apologised for the breach of privacy and said the individuals who took the video “have been stood down and removed from the Crown account”.
“We unreservedly apologise to the guest involved and will continue to take the necessary steps to ensure this remains an isolated incident,” the hotel said in a statement.
“The individuals involved have been stood down and removed from the Crown account.”
One of India's best players in the current ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022, Kohli began his tournament with a brilliant 53-ball 82*, which helped India win the match off the final ball.
Dravid praised Kohli's performance against Pakistan, praising in particular the final over's two sixes he smashed off Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf.
"Virat Kohli's innings against Pakistan was phenomenal. His two against Haris Rauf was amazing," he added.
India will play three Twenty20 matches and three one-day internationals in New Zealand beginning November 18, with Hardik Pandya captaining the T20s and Shikhar Dhawan captaining the 50-over games.
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