Fans wanted me to die – Varun opens up on online abuse after he tested COVID-19 positive
The 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) was suspended following the emergence of COVVID-19 cases within the franchises. The remaining matches were shifted to the UAE.
The chain of COVID-19 positive cases started with Varun Chakravarthy reporting a positive test on 2nd May. The mystery spinner has finally spoken on the whole incident. In a video posted by his IPL franchise, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), he revealed the kind of abuse he received online in the wake of his positive result.
“I remember when Dr Srikanth just called and I still remember the words he told me, it’s unfortunately positive Varun. So that just shattered everything. I really didn’t know that it is going to blow up so much. I even got emails and messages on Instagram where people told me “Rather you should have been dead.”
The franchises’ assistant coach Abhishek Nayar added, “But I felt that is ridiculous. You know to go back and blame someone, a guy like Varun who is anyway so intense and takes things so seriously in life. I feel a little empathy was required. And I felt it was taken very wrongly.”
Even Dinesh Karthik also opened up on the negative impact of social media.
“And that’s where I feel sometimes social media needs to be a kinder place. People don’t realize the gravity of what they say. Be it memes, be it videos, be it you know just the use of words. It is a spur of the moment thing for them at that point of time instinctively what they feel, they just put it out there, not realizing what the person reading it will go through,” said Karthik.
In a world where you can be anything, be kind 💜
This #WorldMentalHeathDay, let's pledge to refrain from social media trolling as you never know the damage it may cause.#KKRFilms x Payments on @amazonIN #PayAmazonSe #KKR #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/EQO3ZvTOn5
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) October 10, 2021
