Why should Gavaskar be abused for voicing his opinion?



The legendary Sunil Gavaskar raised a question, with more than 16 years of service for India and 10,000 Test runs behind him. Clearly, a question is justified. Now, it could well be that the question has a rebuttal. For a modern-day great like Virat Kohli, a rebuttal is fair. It is a debate between two legends, and perfectly fine up to this point. But then, there is social media. All of a sudden, there are millions of trolls who jump in.



Who the hell is Gavaskar to question Kohli? How can Gavaskar do this? This is where things go off-track. Every human being can be questioned, and that’s why this is a democracy. As a commentator, Gavaskar has every right to voice his opinion, as does Kohli to put across his point of view. But for these millions of toxic trolls who spew venom, a fair debate is anathema. They won’t allow proper free speech and the moment their icon is questioned, abuse will be hurled. I have seen it for two years, and now it is being played out in a different garb.



I am not taking a position here. I am not getting into who is right and who is wrong. Frankly, there is no right or wrong. Gavaskar has given his opinion, and so has Kohli. Had the matter ended there, it was absolutely fine. But, no. Social media and the millions of attack dogs won’t let Gavaskar be. So what if he is Sunil Gavaskar? How dare he is the bigger question. You need to toe the line, no questions asked.



On this issue Gavaskar’s contribution to Indian cricket has been questioned, and some have even raised the question of his strike-rate as a batter? Really?

But then, who are we to say anything? Because, if you do, the troll army will unleash itself on you. And I know this all too well, having faced millions of them for two years and hearing the choicest abuse hurled at my family.



Gavaskar was just doing his duty.