Virat Kohli has spoken out about his discomfort with players being recorded by social media teams of Indian Premier League franchises while they are sharing personal conversations with other players or in training sessions. The Royal Challengers Bengaluru star asked for there to be some “streamlining” in terms of the footage that IPL teams’ social media units capture in order to create viral moments.
“You walk to practice and you have six cameras following you. It’s not a comfortable feeling at all,” Kohli said on the RCB Podcast. “As a sportsperson, you need to have the ability and the freedom to work on your game in peace. If everything you do is an opportunity to film or display or to dissect, then you are not being 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… You judge me on my performances during the game, not during the leadup. No one has the right to judge me on what I’m doing in terms of my preparation, the things I’m trying in the nets.”
Kohli called for social media units of teams to understand what to record behind the scenes and when to roll the cameras.
“I just feel like there has to be a bit more streamlining in terms of understanding how much to do, when to do, is the player okay with being filmed at all times. Those kinds of things really need to be taken into account because it gets too much,” Kohli added. “I love the pressure of the game but I honestly don’t love the pressure of anything else. Like social media is a huge part of the commercial representation or the fan engagement for any team, which is understandable. But 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 were ready for from day one.”
Kohli then gave the example of the robo-dog Champak intruding while he was having a conversation with Kane Williamson, who is now an advisor to the Lucknow Super Giants.
“I was talking to Kane the other day and there’s that robot thing just waving at me. And I am like ‘Why is this thing waving at me?’ I’m talking to Kane about something so serious. First I ignored the dog and then I told the man controlling it, please take him away. Let me talk in peace. Kane’s my friend. I can’t have a conversation with him without it becoming a ‘moment’,” Kohli added.
WATCH: Virat Kohli interview on RCB Podcast
These days Kohli plays only in the IPL and for India in the 50-over format. He said that not just cricket, he’s also cut down on other aspects of his life.
“Of course I’m playing much lesser and this was always my plan — I always felt like I want to play to a point where I’m completely finished like I have nothing else to give and then I want to take things very easy I want to focus on life and not just you know cricket, cricket, cricket. This comes even in the choices which I’m actively making off the field: I’ve cut down massively on the number of days I work from a commercial standpoint. I’m focusing more on the business side of things,” Kohli added.
