“Individuals Involved Have Been Stood Down”: Hotel’s Statement On Video Being Leaked Of Virat Kohli’s Room

India batter and former skipper Virat Kohli on Monday narrated an “appalling” experience he had to endure during his stay in Perth for the ongoing T20 World Cup.

While he was not there, someone entered his room and all of Kohli’s accessories and wardrobe were put on display. Kohli posted a lengthy post on Instagram, saying there should be a respect for someone’s privacy and no one should be treated as a “commodity” for entertainment.

Now, the Hotel — Crown Towers in Perth have come out with a statement of their own, saying all individuals involved in this incident have been stood down and 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,” stated the statement, as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.

“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.

In his Instagram post, Kohli had said: “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.

In the ongoing T20 World Cup, Kohli has been in fine form, registering scores of 82, 62 and 12. His entire tally in the tournament now stands at 156.

Kohli’s knock against Pakistan was truly special as he scored an unbeaten 82 taking the team over the line in a difficult 160-run chase. Earlier this year, Kohli had registered his first T20I ton, and it came against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup.