The worldwide shutdown of sports has put athletes in a situation which most of them have never experienced before – lots of free time. Among cricketers, as the wait for live action continues to grow further by the day, many have chosen to get more and more personal with their fan following. From the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to David Warner, world’s top cricketers have been devising new ways to keep their fans engaged in the absence of live-action.
Warner’s transformation into a TikTok star has probably been the most noteworthy happenings in the cricket world in the last couple of months. From dancing to Allu Arjun’s ‘Ramuloo Ramulaa’ with his wife Candice, to his latest instalment of ‘Slowly Slowly’ footsteps, Warner has now also made TikTok stars out of his 2 daughters.
Indian captain Virat Kohli on the other hand has been mostly focussed on keeping himself fit by doing workouts while occasionally delving into nostalgia about playing cricket and life in general. Amongst all this, Kohli also lost his favourite pet dog Bruno, whose demise saddened the India star to the core.
Earn it. Don’t demand it. pic.twitter.com/4qjXlTrqaK
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) May 19, 2020
Putting in the work is a way of life and not a requirement of profession. Choice is yours. pic.twitter.com/oymi2a5plw
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) May 15, 2020
Happy mother’s day pic.twitter.com/DWsZLcYJFe
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) May 10, 2020
Throwback To the soft winds , rustle of trees , touch of that winter snow …. All things we are eternally grateful for. Like we have always been pic.twitter.com/sVK4FzQ9fH
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) May 9, 2020
Rest in peace my Bruno. Graced our lives with love for 11 years but made a connection of a lifetime. Gone to a better place today. God bless his soul with peace pic.twitter.com/R1XSF3ES5o
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) May 6, 2020
Kohli’s deputy in shorter formats, Rohit Sharma, has been busy caring about Mother Nature, engaging other cricketers in quirky video calls, all the while taking social media challenges.
There you go @YUVSTRONG12! I’m committed to staying at home. I further nominate @ShreyasIyer15, @RishabhPant17 and @ajinkyarahane88 to innovate and commit to staying home. pic.twitter.com/P3LlCIJHma
— Rohit Sharma (@ImRo45) May 17, 2020
This has come like a storm in all of our lives and disrupted what we call normal. If we wanted to look at things in a positive way, Mother Earth is finding her way to heal. Times like these make you grasp for the silver linings and that’s what we must cling to
— Rohit Sharma (@ImRo45) May 14, 2020
Happy #WorldMigratoryBirdDay! The Greater Flamingos, recently photographed in Mumbai, are migratory birds & fly to Gujarat & Mumbai from Africa after monsoons.#DYK Flamingos are born grey & white, but turn pink slowly through their diet of brine shrimp & blue-green algae! pic.twitter.com/0EuRn9LUK3
— Rohit Sharma (@ImRo45) May 9, 2020
England’s World Cup-winning all-rounder Ben Stokes, on the other hand, has mostly tweeted about his bowling sessions while occasionally batting for the country’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Like Rohit, Stokes too has been taking online challenges in order to raise money for Covid-19 relief.
Few more overs yesterday from the Driveway End, Video analysis by @clarey_11 and support from Layton pic.twitter.com/OD1AKxE5ei
— Ben Stokes (@benstokes38) May 16, 2020
I felt like I was in the room and he was talking to me…what a brilliant speech @BorisJohnson well done
— Ben Stokes (@benstokes38) May 10, 2020
I’ve just completed a half marathon to help @GardenMara with their efforts of raising funds for @NHSCharities and @Chance2Shine if you can please donate https://t.co/ZvRmXL6XWl pic.twitter.com/AK7wcIDSR0
— Ben Stokes (@benstokes38) May 5, 2020
Meanwhile, New Zealand’s Jimmy Neesham, who already has a cult following due to his witty social media posts, has continued in the same vein to humour his fanbase.
If you’re wondering how things are going in NZ:
Today there’s a front page article about how a woman’s haircut was a bit more expensive than she thought it would be, so she complained about it… and they gave her a refund.
— Jimmy Neesham (@JimmyNeesh) May 20, 2020
I think honestly for everyone’s sanity now that we’ve left lockdown you can just write off those last 12 days of 25 push-ups, nobody’s that interested
— Jimmy Neesham (@JimmyNeesh) May 14, 2020
Rugby https://t.co/xBAlfX16te
— Jimmy Neesham (@JimmyNeesh) May 9, 2020
Elsewhere, with the whole of India speculating about his future, the legendary MS Dhoni has been spending some quiet time with his family at his Ranchi home.
Even though some were disappointed to see a visibly ageing Dhoni in the video, only a naive person would say anything with certainty about his future.