Virat grouped with animals in ‘villain of the week’ poll
Just when it seemed that the DRS fiasco was over and cricket would return to being a gentleman’s game between India and Australia, a new low awaited fans across the globe.
This time, Fox Sports Australia seems to have had a brain fade. Or so they might claim when some sanity returns to their newsroom.
On Friday night, while running a poll on their official Facebook page for their ‘Vettel of the Week’ contest, the media house asked its fans to vote between a puppy, a panda, a kitten and India captain Virat Kohli.
The Vettel of the week award was started in 2013 by Fox Sports Australia when Sebastien Vettel just snatched the pole position from Mark Webber
Although they were criticised from fans across the globe, the media house didn’t bother to apologise. Well, why would they? This wasn’t anyway the first time an Australian media house failed to draw a line between criticising a player and stooping to a new low. In
2015, a poll ran by news.com.au had Kohli listed as one of the nominees for the biggest sports jerk of the week.
A series between India and Australia has never been without some banter but it’s hard to recall an incident where Indian media houses have hurled such personal attacks against visiting cricketers or put previous Australian captains in the same bracket as animals.
The ‘recent event’ that Fox Sports Australia seems to have referred to while posting the useless poll was with Steve Smith seeking advice from the dressing room after being trapped in front by Umesh Yadav in the second Test. His batting partner, Peter Handscomb, too had given a go-ahead. A collective brain fade at the same time. Kohli’s only fault was perhaps that he brought it to the umpires’ notice and lambasted their move.
Smith admitted he had made a mistake and it was a ‘brain fade’. The BCCI had lodged a complaint with the ICC as well, but later withdrew it on Thursday.
After everyone had tried to move on hoping it was a one-off incident, here came a poll that was perhaps of paramount significance to the world. Well done Fox Sports Australia, well done.