Virat Kohli, India
Virat Kohli (Credits - Getty)

Chess star Viswanathan Anand feels India cricket captain Virat Kohli became a bit emotional and lost control during his ‘leave India’ comment.

Virat Kohli has made a habit of grabbing the limelight more often than not. But usually, the star cricketer hits the headlines for his run-scoring exploits on the field. However, earlier this week , he was all over the news for all the wrong reasons. The India skipper landed in hot waters after he asked a fan to ‘leave India’ when he came to know that the fan loved English and Australian batsmen more than the ‘overrated’ Indian batsmen.

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Virat Kohli launched his mobile app on his 30th birthday on November 5. He read out social media messages and reacted after reading a particular tweet on his app.

“Over-rated batsman and personally I see nothing special in his batting. I enjoy watching English and Australian batsmen more than these Indians,” Kohli read out the tweet from a fan during his app launch.

Unimpressed by the comment, Kohli did not hold back and hit out at the fan.

“Okay, I don’t think you should live in India then…you should go and live somewhere else, no? Why are you living in our country and loving other countries? I don’t mind you not liking me but I don’t think you should live in our country and like other things. Get your priorities right,” Kohli replied.

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https://twitter.com/Hramblings/status/1059718366288637953?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1059718366288637953&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indiatoday.in%2Fsports%2Fcricket%2Fstory%2Fvirat-kohli-controversy-aakash-chopra-1384712-2018-11-08

But Kohli soon found himself in the middle of the storm for his comment. He faced criticism from several quarters.

However, Viswanathan Anand feels emotions got the better of the star cricketer.

“I think he lost control. He got a bit emotional and he just said the first thing that came to his mind,” Anand, one of India’s greatest sporting icons, told PTI.

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“That’s the attitude he is comfortable with. In sport, you see all characters and this is the character that fits him best. I try to be myself and in the end you should be comfortable in your own skin,” he added. “Maybe Kohli was caught at a weak moment, feeling a bit sensitive and was not in the best mood maybe. That’s my impression. Then he lost control of it.”

I think he lost control, Says Viswanathan Anand On Virat Kohli's 'Leave India' Controversy
Maybe Kohli was caught at a weak moment: Anand (Credits: AP)

Viswanathan Anand further said that Virat Kohli has already faced enough criticism and it’s better not to pile anything more on him.

“People are emotional and they lose control once in a while. It has happened to me even if I was more successful in not showing it. But there are moments when your emotions take over,” he said.

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“He has got enough criticism already. It’s over. Those who did not like it, already criticised him so no need to keep piling on it,” he added.

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