Virat Kohli 'NOT okay' with 'appalling' invasion of privacy at Perth team hotel

Perth: Hours after Indian batter Virat Kohli narrated an "appalling" experience which he had to endure during his stay in Perth for the ongoing T20 World Cup, the hotel – Crown Towers in Perth – have come out with a statement saying all individuals involved in this incident have been stood down.

The hotel also said that they are working alongside the Indian men's cricket team and ICC.

"We unreservedly apologise to the guest involved and will continue to take the necessary steps to ensure this remains an isolated incident. Crown has taken immediate steps to rectify the issue. The individuals involved have been stood down and removed from the Crown account, and the original video was swiftly removed from the social media platform," ESPNCricinfo quoted Crown Towers statement.

"Crown is conducting an investigation with the third-party contractor and will take any further steps necessary to ensure an incident of this nature does not happen again. We are also cooperating with the Indian Cricket team and the International Cricket Council to convey our apologies and will continue to work with them as we progress the investigation," it added.

Earlier in the day, Kohli posted a video on his Instagram feed sharing that when he was not there, someone entered his room and all of Kohli's accessories and wardrobe were put on display.

Kohli had referred to this as an infringement to privacy and said that no one should be treated as a "commodity" for entertainment.

"I understand that fans get very happy and excited seeing their favourite players and get excited to meet them and I've always appreciated that. But this video here is appalling and it's made me feel very paranoid about my privacy," Kohli wrote in his Instagram post.

"If I cannot have privacy in my own hotel room, then where can I really expect any personal space at all?? I'm NOT okay with this kind of fanaticism and absolute invasion of privacy. Please respect people's privacy and not treat them as a commodity for entertainment," he added.

The in-form batter has till now played three matches in the 2022 T20I World Cup matches and scored 156 runs.