Kohli back Mukund's emotional tweet on racial abuse

New Delhi, Aug 11 - India skipper Virat Kohli, all-rounders Ravichandran Ashwin, Hardik Pandya and many other players on Thursday supported opener Abhinav Mukund's emotional Twitter post, recalling the abusive racist posts he received due to his skin colour.

Mukund, on Wednesday tweeted a post about fair not being the "only lovely or handsome." Kohli, Pandya, Bengal batsman Manoj Tiwary, off-spinner Ashwin supported the youngster and appreciated him. Kohli tweeted: "Very well said Abhinav" while Ashwin said: "Read and learn, don't make it a headline cos its someone's emotion."

Women's doubles badminton star Jwala Gutta also supported him and said: "Corrrrrectttt"

Recalling his past, Mukund, who scored 81 in the second innings in the first Test against Sri Lanka at Galle, wrote: "I have been playing cricket since the age of 10 and I have gradually climbed up the ladder to where I am right now."

"It is an honour to get the chance to represent the country at the highest level. I am writing today not to garner sympathy or attention but...with the hope to change the mindset of people on an issue I feel strongly about.

"I have been travelling a lot within and outside our country since I was 15. Ever since I was young, people's obsession with my skin colour has always been a mystery to me. Anyone who follows cricket would understand the obvious. 

"I have played and trained day in and day out in the sun and not once have I regretted the fact that I have tanned or lost a couple of shades," he wrote.

The Tamil Nadu southpaw further wrote: "It is simply because I love what I do and I have been able to achieve certain things only because I have spent hours outdoor. I come from Chennai, probably one of the hottest places in our country and I have gladly spent most of my adult life in the cricket ground.

The 27-year-old concluded the note by saying that one has to be comfortable in his own skin.

"I have laughed and shrugged it off because I had bigger goals! Affected young, I toughened up because this was never something that would pull me down. There were many times when I chose not to dignify these insults with responses," Mukund said.

"With the rise of social media, it has gone to a magnitude that I see people hurling abuses left, right and centre at something I have absolutely no control over. Fair isn't the only lovely or handsome guys.

"Stay true, stay focussed, be comfortable in your own skin", he added.

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IANS