India captain Virat Kohli has been receiving rape threats against his 10-month-old daughter as he defended Mohammed Shami after the team lost to Pakistan in its T20 World Cup.
According to Free Press Kashmir, Andre Borges has tweeted, “Kohli and Anushka’s 10-month-old daughter is getting rape threats because he decided to stand by his Muslim teammate, call out bigotry, and say discrimination on the basis of religion is wrong.”
NDTV and Gulf News columnist Swati Chaturvedi also highlighted the disturbing threats against a toddler because of her father’s stand against “bigotry” and support for his teammate. She asserted, “These bigots belong in jail.”
This is not the first time a cricketer especially in India has been mocked by extremists. Recently, a torrent of social media abuse was aimed at India’s only Muslim player, the bowler Mohammed Shami, calling him a ‘traitor’ after his side was thrashed by arch-rivals Pakistan at the cricket T20 World Cup on Sunday.
Read more: India’s Kohli backs Muhammad Shami after social media abuse
Violence against Muslims in India was also reported after the emphatic win. Cricket clashes between Hindu-majority India and Muslim Pakistan frequently heighten tensions between the neighbours.
In October last year, the very toxicity and vile nature of extremism had taken a similar and frightening turn after an Instagram user sent rape threats to MS Dhoni’s then five-year-old daughter. The disturbing threat surfaced after Chennai Super Kings (CSK) lost against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, according to the Free Press Journal.
