The uncluttered batting style of Virender Sehwag, who stepped out of the coached boundaries of cricket and gave sleepless nights to bowlers, has made the cricketer a living legend. The boy from Najafgarh, a suburb that falls on the border of Delhi and Haryana, is considered a great example of what simplicity can achieve without being touched by urbane sophistication. The image of a rustic village boy who made it big in a sport dominated by city boys, has spawned a million followers. He may have succeeded by not playing by the batting rules in cricket, but in life is seen as a straightforward, generous man, who knows how to laugh at himself and even at the world.
His mirthful, witty birthday greetings on Twitter to his fellow colleagues made him a social media star and led to a massive following that would be the envy of even top film stars.
Not everything is as it seems and the mirror does not always reflect what is, but what one wants to see. In an interaction with me last year, Sehwag admitted that he uses social media for commercial gain and tweets using brand names to make money. This was admitted on record as he obviously wanted more and more people to know that they could utilise his services. Nothing wrong, one would say, as he has the right to exploit his following to make money, as long as he adheres to the rules of the game.
As a citizen of the country, he also has the right to express his views, take sides on issues and influence public opinion, as most do. When last week, as he has done many times in the past too, he overstepped the line by putting up a communally charged tweet on the horrific killing of a tribal in Kerala, he got slammed.
Most of his following on twitter comes from his status as a cricketer and not as a political animal. His tweet in which he selectively named three Muslims among the 16 charged for a murder that included Hindus as well, shocked most of his followers. The tweet read: “Madhu stole 1 kg of rice. A mob of Ubaid, Hussain and Abdul Kareem lynched the poor triabl man to death. This is a disgrace to a civilized society and I feel ashamed this happens and kuch farak nahi padta. (sic)”
Probably realising that this harsh backlash is not good for his image and may negatively impact his use of social media for commercial benefits, he retracted immediately, tweeting: “Acceptance of a fault is itself a 2nd fault. I apologise I missed out on more names involved in this crime bcoz of incomplete info & sincerely appologise 4 it but the tweet is not communal at all. Killeres r divided by religion but united by violent mentality, May there be peace.”
Just as he was being praised for admitting his mistake, he deleted both tweets. Possibly, he realised that it’s better to behave as if nothing had happened than to get mired in this unsavoury controversy.
In a country where stars, both real and reel, generally keep quiet on social issues that concern its citizens, it is always welcome if someone of Sehwag’s stature takes a stand. To express opinions which may not be universally accepted or are controversial is not a problem. But to make politically loaded statements that are divisive in nature and not backed by facts is troubling.
Sehwag and his ilk have every right to be on the right or the left of the political divide, but shouldn’t use their popularity to create divisions in society. We want to remember Sehwag as the daredevil he was in the crease, and not for statements that belittle his stature as a sporting icon.