Ross Taylor, a former captain of the New Zealand cricket team, has spoken highly of India’s past skipper Virat Kohli describing him as a “global superstar in the world of sports,” more than just cricket.
Kohli who has millions of followers on social media is not only known for his cricketing skills but his tremendous impact on sporting culture too.
To Taylor, this is one good thing about today’s age where players can be accessed easily through social media which was what he said when asked about how Social Media has influenced cricketers’ lives.
Taylor discussed these ideas during an interview for episode six of “180 Not Out”, a podcast series.
“They are putting outposts endorsing products and things like that. Who would have thought of that in 2008? Someone like Kohli you know is not only a cricket superstar but also a global superstar. He’s up there with Ronaldo and Messi when it comes to Instagram and social media!”
“Yes, I think you’re more accessible; I don’t think sports people are just as picked on. Because of social media now all politicians, Bollywood stars are under the microscope so are movie stars but I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing,” disclosed Taylor to Raman Raheja who hosted this Podcast “180 Not Out” among other professionals from the field.
Australian fast bowler Brett Lee had mixed views on mobile cameras in relation to social media because according to him well though it had its pros it also had its cons mostly through online platforms.
Lee took us back in time by giving some background information relating to how we got here from where we began talking about the journey of social media over the years.
“Phones came in…early 2000s people would take a photo with you. There was autograph and photo mid-2015 2020 this happens now, where players are always getting spotted now. If anyone plays Indian Premier League, they are always spotted, go out for dinner somebody would come with phone camera” explained Lee.
“The thing was the best and worst ever invented. The best of course is when you capture beautiful memories with your family and friends but also as a spectator or lover of the sport you can also capture those moments. But then again, players now don’t have that much privacy because you walking around in public space all the time.
“If you are having dinner with your family, your loved ones, friends…someone takes a snap and it goes instantly all over the world. Now, you also have to be able to deal with that and accept that,” he added.
Former Australian cricketer Michael Bevan gave his thoughts in this podcast series where he also appeared speaking on different topic matters. He talked extensively about how young cricketers’ performance could be affected by social media.
“Social media is what the younger generation uses; I think it has an impact on them in many ways their situation or circumstances or even career wise. They will have to decide whether they want to read those comments or blog a lot,” Bevan said.
The modern players who are playing in today’s world will have a very difficult time with it because of the T20 cricket and the social media… You always decide as a player on how you handle that, whether you want to read or not. That’s the most significant thing…to know oneself and one’s own game according to him.
