MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli face incessant trolling for not attending the Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha Ceremony

On January 22nd, Monday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi completed the ‘Pran Pratistha’ ceremony of the ostentatiously built Ram Lalla temple at Ayodhya. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) sent out invitations to many eminent celebrities, industrialists, and sportspersons to attend the majestic consecration event of the Ram Mandir. While most of the invited celebrities showed up at the illustrious event hosted by the Prime Minister himself, former Indian cricket Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, star cricketer Virat Kohli and actress wife Anushka Sharma, incumbent Indian men’s cricket team captain Rohit Sharma, and actor Akshay Kumar, did not attend the ceremony despite receiving the invitation.

While Rohit Sharma had been away on account of national duty for the ongoing India-England Test Series, Virat Kohli opted out of both the ongoing test series and the Mandir consecration, presumably due to a ‘personal issue.’ Actor Akshay Kumar expressed his regret about not being able to attend the ceremony due to a ‘pre-planned schedule’ for his upcoming movie — Bade Miyan Chote Miyan. 

While Ram Lalla devotees let go of Rohit Sharma and Akshay Kumar with a little flak and later forgave them for their apparently ‘genuine’ alibi, they tore into Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni, leaving derogatory and hateful comments on their Instagram feeds.

Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff posted a video on the internet from the sets of ‘Bade Miyan Chote Miyan:’

Actors Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff posted a video expressing joy over the Ram Mandir consecration event. They chanted “Jay Shree Ram,” and Akshay Kumar spoke at length about how it was an auspicious day for all Ram Bhakts in India. In the video, Akshay said, “After years of waiting, the day has finally arrived when Ram Lalla shall return to his abode in Ayodhya.”

Tiger Shroff followed Akshay Kumar’s cue and said, “We grew up listening to Ram Lalla’s lore and the legend of Ramayana since childhood. We are extremely lucky to see this happen (Mandir consecration) with our own eyes and live through this auspicious moment.” The internet was fairly satisfied with their reason for not being present in the grand ceremony.

MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli got grilled:

The former Indian men’s cricket team captain, MS Dhoni, retired from all forms of international cricket and plays only in IPL, captaining the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) franchise. Fans felt dejected, especially because they could not find any apparent reason for his absence. 

Despite his wife, Shakshi Singh Dhoni, posting a picture of the Ram Lalla idol on her Instagram story, a spree of hate comments was directed towards Dhoni that ranged from personal abuses to questioning his integrity towards his nation and religion! Some called him a scammer owing to his fiasco with Araka Sports and a money-minded sellout because he collaborated with rapper MC Stan, while others deduced that he was trying to appease Dravidian politics due to his affiliation with CSK. A user wrote on his feed, “Jo Ram Ka Nahin, Woh Kisi Kaam Ka Nahin.”

Virat Kohli had opted out of the ongoing India vs. England Test series, citing ‘personal problems.’ Some paparazzi speculated that his wife, actress Anushka Sharma, was facing health-related complications owing to her rumoured second pregnancy. Some of the Ram Devotees called him names like “Chokli” (a word that trolls use to grill Virat Kohli for some of his lacklustre performances in crucial matches) and “anti-Hindu.” Netizens targeted the two gems of Indian cricket by conspiring that the two biggest “youth icons” of the country were sending a political statement by not attending the Ram Mandir Consecration.

Who were present in the Ayodhya ceremony on January 22nd?

The Mandir Trust and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) had started sending out invitations to numerous eminent celebrities and icons way before the consecration ceremony of the Ayodhya Mandir. Hence, the opulent event was graced by the presence of celebrities like Shri Amitabh Bachchan and son Abhishek Bachchan, Actor Vicky Kaushal and wife Katrina Kaif, Actress Alia Bhatt and husband Ranbir Kapoor, and actress Kangana Ranaut. Industrialist and richest man of India: Shri Mukesh Ambani and younger brother Anil Ambani. Icons from the cricketing world: Shri Sachin Tendulkar, Venkatesh Prasad, Anil Kumble, and Ravindra Jadeja were also present during the ceremony. Eminent Musicians Shankar Mahadevan, Sonu Nigam and Kailash Kher graced the event too. The event organisers excluded stars like Shahrukh Khan, Aamir Khan, and Salman Khan from the invitee list.