Virat Kohli's fans offended by 'original king' post for Viv Richards, journalist reveals India star's reaction to the matter

Virat Kohli is not only one of the most decorated cricketers of this generation but is also one of the most popular and adored cricketers of his time. No matter where he plays across the world, the Indian superstar always gets a warm reception from the fans.

His unparalleled success on the field and immense popularity have also made him the 'king' of cricket. Virat Kohli is fondly called 'King Kohli' not only by his fans but also by other cricketers, both present and past. And recently when a journalist used the nickname to address the legendary Vivian Richards, he faced backlash from the Kohli faithful.

Journalist Vimal Kumar was in Antigua for the recently concluded ICC T20 World Cup 2024 and used the opportunity to pay tribute to the legendary West Indies cricketer.

He clicked the photo of Richards' statue that is installed outside the stadium (Sir Vivian Richards Stadium) that is named after him and took to X (formerly Twitter) to post it. In his post, Vimal Kumar also called Richards the original king of the game, writing:

"Welcome to the land of the original KING! If ever there was a King of the kings then it has to be the Superking Sir @ivivianrichards"

With Virat Kohli struggling in the T20 World Cup at that time, many of his fans thought that the journalist took a dig at the former India skipper with his post. After facing the backlash, Vimal Kumar has revealed that he talked about it with Virat Kohli himself and has revealed the batting stalwart's reaction to it.

On Tuesday (July 2), Vimal Kumar took to X and revealed that Kohli was not bothered about the tweet at all and also asked him to stop explaining.

"Yesterday, when I told @imVkohli about this tweet that how some of his so-called fans got offended. And his reaction was -arrey aap choro na, aapko bhi kya mujhe explain karna hai itne saalon baad? (Of course you don’t need to explain all this things after all these years of knowing you).

"And both of us burst into laughter! Never seen the modern king at his happiest. This World Cup victory is something very very special to him," wrote Vimal Kumar.

Yesterday, when I told @imVkohli about this tweet that how some of his so-called fans got offended. And his reaction was -arrey aap choro na, aapko bhi kya mujhe explain karna hai itne saalon baad?
(Of course you don’t need to explain all this things after all these years of… https://t.co/8CaQDJRH7l

— Vimal कुमार (@Vimalwa) July 2, 2024

Virat Kohli on being called King:

While the fans love to call Virat Kohli a king, the cricketer himself does not like the nickname. Earlier this year, the former India skipper revealed that he finds the name embarrassing. In an interview with Danish Sait before the IPL season, Kohli had said:

"Firstly, you need to stop calling me that word [King]. I was telling Faf that it is very embarrassing for me when you call me that name every year, just call me Virat."