T20 World Cup 2021: Virat Kohli slams people trolling Mohammed Shami over religion, terms them 'spineless'

Former champion India suffered a brutal ten-wicket loss to fellow former champion and arch-rival Pakistan in their Super 12 opener of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday. After the loss, some people mercilessly trolled Indian seamer Mohammed Shami, targeting him for his religion.

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Shami was the most expensive Indian bowler against Pakistan, giving away 43 runs in 3.5 overs. However, he has found support from his Indian teammates, including skipper Virat Kohli. During the pre-match press conference ahead of its scheduled clash against New Zealand in Dubai on Saturday, Kohli hit back at the trollers, calling them "spineless".

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"Well, there is a good reason that we are playing on the field and not some spineless people on social media that have no courage to speak to any individuals in person and hide behind the identities and go after the people through social media. Making fun of people and has become a source of entertainment in today's world, which has become so unfortunate and so sad to see because this is literally the lowest level of human potential that one can operate at, and this is how I look at these people," he said.

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"We as a group understand how we need to stick together, how we need to back individuals, how we need to focus on our strengths. People on the outside portray it that India can't afford to lose the game. That's none of our business because we play sport and we know how sports work. So, what people think outside is no value whatsoever in our group," he added.

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Speaking on the game against the Kiwis, he reckoned, "We obviously will come up against some quality bowlers in this competition, and the intensity which this tournament operates at is very different. So, we know that we have played against these individuals. It is not something out of the ordinary that is going to come our way. It all depends on how we take the field mentally and how we counter it if Trent says he wants to replicate what Shaheen did against us, then he is motivated to do so, and we need to be motivated to put pressure on him and counter that."