Straight drive: Going online with aplomb!
Bollywood stars, during the ongoing lockdown, have gone online in a big way to keep their fans entertained. And with no matches in sight, a number of cricketers have also taken to social media to stay in touch with the world. So, if Yuzvendra Chahal is actively entertaining on a video-sharing platform, others regularly resort to Instagram live to engage in fun conversations.
And the list includes several cricketers’ chats such as Virat Kohli with (former England batsman) Kevin Pietersen and AB de Villiers (South African cricketer), and Rohit Sharma with Yuvraj Singh, Jaspreet Bumrah, Harbhajan Singh and Chahal, among others. Shikhar Dhawan, besides Instagram live chats, has shared videos featuring his son Zoravar and
wife Ayesha, too.
Besides cricket, the sports stars discuss other facets of their life, including personal life space, which is otherwise a strict no-no. So, be it Virat talking about wife, actor Anushka Sharma, being “the pillar of strength” for him, or Rohit sharing his dream of seeing India win at least two of the three upcoming World
Cups, cricketers seem to be speaking their minds during such chats.
Experts and fans, too, “love seeing this new side” of their idols. “It’s great to see such champions talk to each other, and open their hearts on live chats. I love Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal’s conversation a lot. Where else would you see them interacting at such length?” says ex-Indian cricketer and commentator, Aakash Chopra.
“Since they have, like everyone else, all the free time in the world, it’s fantastic to see our heroes indulge in such conversations for their fans,” says exhibitor-distributor and a self-confessed cricket fanatic, Akshaye Rathi. But Chopra is not sure “for how long” such chats/online activities will persist “if there’s no game in the next six months”. “Right now, it’s a novel idea,” he adds.