It was as if Kohli had committed some crime, or lost his wicket deliberately, when one watched the reactions being spewed on social media. Retire, go back to London, useless against spin, all these comments cropped up. It's fine, perhaps, when lesser cricket-literate people say such stuff. But when cricket commentators who have played the sport at the highest level also stoop to gutter level and lambast Kohli, something is wrong. If being ruthless is a fashion, people have grabbed it. But why? Is hatred necessary for a failure or is a human error unpardonable? One can understand, that if a captain in the airplane cockpit makes a human error, he can even be booked for manslaughter. No, the way Kohli has been subjected to abuse and more, God knows why people are so vicious. Sample this, a few days ago, King Kohli's magical six off Harris Rauf, executed in the ICC T20 World Cup two years ago was being celebrated. Photos and videos of that shot were posted on social media and even used as screen savers. Add to it the hype when Kohli crossed 9,000 runs in Test cricket, he was God, he was the messiah of Indian cricket. In less than a few days, Kohli is a villain. Hate him, abhor him, loathe him. Use adjectives to even question his parentage, this is beast mode from the same fans. One talks of intolerance in life and even more of religious intolerance these days. Hate Kohli is even more caustic, as if he is a traitor and deliberately threw his cricket.

 There is an old saying: To err is human, to forgive divine. In the case of Kohli, he cannot make a mistake. Now, he is being spoken of as a man who lives in London and comes to play cricket as and when he wishes! How bizarre can that be? Can not a man choose where he wants to live for his own sanity with his family?

If he can afford to live in Central London and live in style, he has earned it. He is not some kind of a cheat who has looted public money or defrauded banks and ran away. The guy's brand value, plus what his celebrity wife Anushka Sharma rakes in is legitimate stuff. Why bring in hatred?

 If you don't like Kohli, don't watch him bat. Switch off the TV channel or stop fiddling with the cricket apps on the cell phone. For those who feel Kohli should quit cricket, it's wrong to say that. He is a professional cricketer and the sport is his bread and butter. Cricket is his first love. He will play IPL for RCB as long as he wants to.

If he is a liability in Test cricket, then the think-tank, led by chief selector Ajit Agarkar can drop him. As it is, Kohli has opted out of T20 internationals, post the World Cup win in the West Indies. For someone who still has plenty of cricket in him and is still the fittest guy who does not need rehab now and then, Kohli is a marvel. If one dismissal can bring his entire reputation into question, then something is wrong. Spare Kohli abuse. He does not deserve it. If there has been a failure, it is a collective one of Team India against the Kiwis in the second Test in Pune.