The Barmy Army, known for their spirited support of the England cricket team, recently found themselves in the social media spotlight with a tweet that playfully involved Indian cricket superstar Virat Kohli. However, as is often the case with such things, the tweet received a mixed bag of reactions from fans, with some expressing their disapproval and criticizing the group for their choice of target.
In the tweet, the Barmy Army commemorated Moeen Ali bowling his first over in the opening Test of Ashes 2023 against Australia. It is worth noting that Moeen had come out of retirement to participate in the Ashes series this year. The tweet included a GIF of Moeen dismissing Kohli during the second Test of England’s tour of India in 2021 at the Chepauk Stadium. The caption accompanying the GIF humorously read, “Mo back with the red ball in hand.”
Mo back with the red ball in hand 😍#Ashes pic.twitter.com/IF9g555Gp9
— England's Barmy Army 🏴🎺 (@TheBarmyArmy) June 17, 2023
During that particular match, Moeen managed to dismiss Kohli for a five-ball duck. The Barmy Army’s tweet aimed to celebrate Moeen’s achievement, highlighting his previous success against one of the world’s best batter.
However, the tweet stirred up a storm of mixed reactions among fans and followers on social media. Many fans took offence and criticized the Barmy Army for what they perceived as an attack on Virat. Some claimed the group of seeking attention by deliberately targeting the Indian superstar.
Here’s how fans reacted:
These guys are really shameless attention seekers, Kohli lives rent free in their minds. I remember how they mocked Kohli during the test vs Eng last year.
Australian media is way better and acts professional. Only reason to support them this ashes https://t.co/8TRLAirHwk
— B` (@Bishh04) June 17, 2023
https://twitter.com/vkstangirl_18/status/1670044270789640195
The Lord's defeat Still haunting to England team.
because of Virat Kohli, KL Rahul and ICT Eng didn't played WTC final.pic.twitter.com/FvaE8gEWMB https://t.co/3CVZRACnSz
— KT (@KohliMyHeart) June 17, 2023
Ashes is going on but this Barmy Army still needs Kohli for attention. Biggest Superstar world cricket has ever seen https://t.co/zmZtJMoWfg
— CricketFreak (@Cricket32915671) June 17, 2023
the obsession with kohli is unreal @poserarcher https://t.co/dkkAlpsDrV
— HelloWorld (@ShivamK83596389) June 17, 2023
Yeah you must celebrate it for 10 more years, after all he has taken the wicket of VIRAT KOHLI ,very big achievement.. https://t.co/yiTbD1In66
— ❄ (@narayan4632) June 17, 2023
Wow playing with Australia and still thinking about Virat.Thts the kind ex nobody wants 🙄 https://t.co/5gI2MtiDmB
— K 🇮🇳 (@D_SKR_) June 17, 2023
Maybe they hate him because he's too good. https://t.co/bVaWOxgPpV
— Krishna (@imKrishna09) June 17, 2023
It is noteworthy that Moeen made a comeback from retirement due to an injury that sidelined England’s main spinner, Jack Leach. Making an immediate impact, Moeen smashed 18 runs off 17 balls in England’s first innings and then claimed two wickets for 129 in 29 overs.
Although England had the upper hand for a significant portion of the day, Australia staged a remarkable resurgence, thanks to an unbeaten partnership of 91 runs for the sixth wicket between Usman Khawaja and Alex Carey. The duo steered Australia to stumps, trailing England by a mere 82 runs, with the scoreboard reading 311/5 at the end of Day 2.
