Kohli-Vaidya Row: Chahal, Krunal Pandya Unfollow Singer on Instagram

Chahal, Pandya Unfollow Rahul Vaidya on Instagram Amid Virat Kohli “Joker” Row

Several cricketers are now entering the social media war between Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli and singer Rahul Vaidya wherein, as per some reports, Yuzvendra Chahal and Krunal Pandya have stopped following Rahul on Insta. This development comes at the backdrop of Vaidya calling Kohli and his fans as jokers as a result of Kohli clarifying that he accidentally liked a post on social media.

The scandal also began with the statement of Kohli gave about accidentally blessing a picture of actress Avneet Kaur, which he blamed on an ‘algorithm’. Vaidya then took to his Instagram stories once again to ridicule Kohli’s statement and also teased that even the algorithm could be the reason why the latter had unfollowed him on the platform. This joke was most ill received by Kohli ’s admirers to the extent that the fans trolled Vaidya by posting obscene materials of his wife and sister.

Instead of backing down, Vaidya resorted to what could be described as having a dig at Kohli further by putting up another story: “Virat Kohli’s fans are even bigger jokers than Virat.” This comment seems to have been the last straw that pushed Chahal and Pandya, both of whom are said to be great friends with Kohli, to off the singer on Instagram.

Many people online pointed out the cricketers’ movements and attributed it as an attempt to support their team-mate. Punjabi followers had been pressuring Chahal most of all to block Vaidya as a gesture to support Kohli. This instance shows how most cricketers in the Indian team are fond of defending each other especially through social media when one of them is in trouble.

Although Chahal and Pandya themselves have not stated why they have decided not to follow Vaidya any longer, it cannot be a mere coincidence that they quickly unfollow Vaidya right after the “joker” comments from the latter.

This social media unfollowing can be understood as a contemplated but impactful means of showing support for Kohli and disavowing Vaidya’s comments.

This incident saw the usage and impact of social media platforms in managing public relations, the narrative being pushed, and the relentless ‘digital monitoring’ that exists for public figures, sharmas, cricketers, and their associates. It demonstrates the depth of scrutiny hyphenated celebrities endure offs-screen, especially stemming from social media. What was started as a paltry issue of an inadvertent ‘like’ has exploded into a multifaceted inter-principal controversy about people and their engagements on virtual platforms.

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At this moment, we know Kohli has not, thus far, publicly commented on Vaidya’s remarks or team dynamics which emerged later. Whether this digital drama will result in some tangible consequences or, in due course, simply dissipate like most such stories, is unclear. What is clear, however, is the incident through a lens shows the ecosystem of relationships that exist within and across the celebrity circuit and the impact digital interventions into the social sphere can have grotesquely.

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