Dubai

A day before he would lead his team against New Zealand in the T-20 world cup, the Indian Captain Virat Kohli slammed those who had tried to abuse his teammate Mohammad Shammi for his performance against the last match against Pakistan.

He attacked the 'spineless' people on social media’ for making fun of people that has become a source of entertainment for some, which is really disappointing.

“If people can overlook that and his passion for his country, honestly I don’t even want to waste one minute of my life to give any attention to those people, and neither does Shami and neither does anyone else in the team. We stand by him fully. We are backing him 200 per cent, and all those who have attacked him can come with more force if they want to. Our brotherhood, our friendship within the team, nothing can be shaken,” he said.

Fast bowler Mohammed Shami has been subjected to online abuse after India suffered a loss against arch-rivals Pakistan in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup. As soon as the match was over, fans on Instagram and Twitter made derogatory statements on Shami.

It turned out that Shammi’s online abuse was started from faceless Instagram accounts that were recently opened and it was an conspiracy to divide the Indian team and the people.

Virat Kohli said in the pre-match press conference, 'I would call it pathetic, who can attack a human (one's religion). Everyone has the right to have their own opinion and what they feel about a certain situation. And I personally never thought of discriminating about one's religion. It is a very sacred and personal thing for every human being.

He further said, 'People take out their frustration and we have no understanding about what we do on the field. They have no understanding that someone like Mohammed Shami has won India many matches. When it comes to making an impact in the game, he is our primary bowler along with Jasprit Bumrah. If people can ignore this and his passion for the country, then I honestly don't want to waste a single minute of my life on them. Our brotherhood cannot be shaken.

"Well, there's a good reason we're playing on the field and we're not some spineless people on social media who don't have the courage to talk to anyone in person and hide identities and socialize," Kohli said.

People fall behind through the media. Joking has become a source of entertainment for people and in today's world, which has become so unfortunate and sad to see that it is literally the lowest level of human ability that anyone can work at and I would like to thank these people. This is how I see it."

'We personally understand what we want to do on the field and we have the strength of character and mental toughness to do what we're doing on the field and none of them can even imagine doing something like that. Not even in the vicinity. They don't have the courage or strength to do so and that's how I see things. And all this drama that is created out is purely based on people's frustration, their lack of confidence, their lack of compassion and hence they find it very amusing to go after people.

'We understand as a group that we need to be together, how we need to support individuals, how we need to focus on our strengths. Outsiders paint it that India cannot afford to lose the game, it is not our business, because we play the game and we know how the game works. So what people in our group think has no value.

India and New Zealand will face each other in the Super 12 stages of the World Cup on Sunday at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Both sides will enter the match after losing to Pakistan.

Kohli said, 'No one game is more important than another, every game of cricket is important and it will be the same in the next match.'