Mitchell Starc's light-hearted message of congratulations to Virat Kohli goes viral after landing in the wrong account
Starc's errant tweet to wrong Kohli
It’s one of the great perils of modern technology: the misdirected tweet.
Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc has proven nobody is immune; his personal note of congratulations to India captain and former Royal Challengers Bangalore teammate Virat Kohli going viral after the paceman accidentally sent a Twitter Direct Message to the wrong account.
Starc messaged the fan account @imVkohIIi rather than Kohli’s official handle @imVkohli.
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That extra 'l' makes a world of difference on social media where each character is crucial.
Needless to say, the owner of the fan account was swift to share the message with the cricket fraternity.
In the misdirected missive, Starc – who played under captain Kohli at RCB in 2014 and 2015, but is sitting out the Indian Premier League this year – makes light of the tensions between Australia and India in the recently completed Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, and wishes Kohli all the best in his recovery from a shoulder injury.
This is what @mstarc56 message me by mistake instead of @imVkohli yestarday! @BrokenCricket @SirJadeja @RCBTweets @cricketaakash pic.twitter.com/E1Z12MIWQu
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohIIi) March 31, 2017
“Hey friend :) Hopefully I don't have to look for a new IPL team?? Haha media hey! Didn't get a chance to have a proper catch up mate but Congrats on the series win and on your summer personally... I hope that shoulder is on the mend and not too bad. Good luck for the ipl, here's hoping to an RCB win. Cheers mate,” Starc tweeted.
The paceman, who returned to Australia following the second Test in Bengaluru due to a foot injury, was referring to comments made by Kohli at the end of the fourth Test in Dharamsala, when the India captain said his outlook on his Australian rivals and friends had changed following a heated series.
"No, it has changed," Kohli told a post-match media conference when asked if he stood by his affirmation of friendly rivalry made earlier in the series. "I thought that was the case, but it has changed for sure.
"As I said, in the heat of the battle you want to be competitive but I've been proven wrong. "The thing I said before the first Test, that has certainly changed and you won't hear me say that ever again."
However, Kohli has since moved to clarify his comments, taking to Twitter on Thursday to suggest his comments had been "blown way out of proportion".
1/2 My answer at the post match conference has been blown way out of proportion. I did not categorically say the whole Australian team but
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) March 30, 2017
2/2only a couple of individuals.I continue to be in good terms with the few guys I know & who I've played with at RCB & that doesn't change.
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) March 30, 2017
Starc announced in February he was pulling out of the 2017 IPL, giving up a contract worth close to one million dollars to instead take some time away to freshen up for the year ahead.
The left-armer - who missed the 2016 IPL due to injury but had been retained for the upcoming season - said he and RCB had "mutually decided to discontinue their association".