Petition to ‘stop Virat Kohli from congratulating Team India in ICC tournaments’ attracts almost 1000 people

India’s ventures in ICC tournaments over the last few years have been disappointing on a number of occasions, the players in blue could not give the finishing touches to promising campaigns. Be it in the men’s, women’s or juniors’ sections — India fell at the ultimate or penultimate hurdles far too often to leave the supporters heartbroken. After the men’s team failed to make the final of the 50-over World Cup in England last year, India’s colts and women lost two ICC World Cup finals within a month.

To overcome the jinx, a fan named Abhinay Thakur has started a bizarre petition on Change.org whereby he has sought suspension of the social media accounts of India captain Virat Kohli and former captain and blazing opener Virender Sehwag so that the duo cannot congratulate Team India outfits before a key match in ICC tournaments. Reason: Their wishes are considered a curse.

The stunning petition was started on Sunday after India’s women lost the final of the T20 World Cup against Australia in Melbourne by 85 runs. A month ago, India’s Under-19 team lost to Bangladesh in a closely contested final in the World Cup in South Africa. The initial goal of the petition was to gather 1,000 signatures and it was going quite smoothly.

“Stop Virat Kohli and Sehwag from wishing Indian teams in ICC tournaments especially in Semis/Finals. These both jinxx our victories..! Suspend their social media accounts if they don’t stop posting congratulations post (sic),” Thakur’s petition reads.

‘Virat Kohli has negative vibes in Indian cricket’

Two other persons, who have likely signed the petitions, posted their remarks under it and they were unwelcoming towards the Indian captain.

“This guy (Kohli) has so much negative vibes in Indian cricket,” one comment read while another said the Indian skipper brought bad luck.

Kohli recently returned from New Zealand where his team was beaten 0-3 in the ODIs and 0-2 in Tests after they won the T20I series 5-0. Kohli’s own batting form has also hit a lean patch which has earned him a lot of backlash.

Both Kohli and Sehwag congratulated the Indian women’s team when it qualified for the summit clash after its semi-final match against England was washed out.

In a tweet, Kohli said: “Congratulations to the Indian Women’s team on qualifying for the @T20WorldCup final. We are proud of you girls and wish you all the luck for the finals,” Kohli had tweeted.

Congratulations to the Indian Women's team on qualifying for the @T20WorldCup final. We are proud of you girls and wish you all the luck for the finals. 🇮🇳👏 @BCCIWomen

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) March 5, 2020

In a similar tweet, Sehwag said: “Would have loved seeing the semi-finals but Indra Devta ke aage kaun jeet sakta hai. Mehnat ka parinaam achha milta hai. A reward for Winning all the matches in the group stage. Congratulations @BCCIWomen and wishing you glory this Sunday #T20WorldCup.”

Would have loved seeing the semi-finals but Indra Devta ke aage kaun jeet sakta hai.
Mehnat ka parinaam achha milta hai. A reward for Winning all the matches in the group stage. Congratulations @BCCIWomen and wishing you glory this Sunday #T20WorldCup

— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) March 5, 2020

None of their prayers was heard by the divine as India were hammered

India have failed to win the 50-over World Cup titles in 2015 and 2019 after reaching the semi-finals and also fell in the last four in the World Twenty20 in 2016. In the women’s section, too, they came close to winning the title in the final of the 50-over World Cup in 2017 but lost to England by just nine runs. In the Champions Trophy the same year, too, the Indian men’s team lost to arch-rivals Pakistan in the final by 180 runs.