Not only did Ben Duckett upset the supporters of MS Dhoni and Chennai Super Kings (CSK), but he also managed to irk the fans of Virat Kohli and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Duckett, who is currently a part of the England squad for the five-match Test series in India, found himself in hot water when an old tweet resurfaced during the second Test in Vizag. The tweet, which was originally posted in 2013, made a comment about MS Dhoni’s wife, Sakshi Dhoni, without realizing that Dhoni had been married to her since 2010. Duckett, who was only 18 years old at the time, had likely only seen Sakshi on television as he had never played in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in India. Despite his intentions, the tweet drew mixed reactions from netizens, with some expressing their disgust over his comment about the wife of a respected cricketer like Dhoni.
As the old tweet on Sakshi went viral, it not only angered the fans of Dhoni and CSK, but it also managed to upset the fans of Kohli and RCB. In 2018, Duckett retweeted a tweet that asked what Kohli is, to which he responded with “A Joke?”. He further added fuel to the fire by tweeting, “RCB’s team is a joke.” These comments did not sit well with fans of Kohli and RCB, further adding to the controversy surrounding Duckett.
Despite the controversy, Duckett has performed decently in the first two Tests against India. He managed to score 35 and 47 in the first match, and followed it up with scores of 21 and 28 in the second match. With a total of 1252 runs in 17 Test matches since his debut in 2016 against Bangladesh, Duckett has proven himself as a valuable player. He has also contributed with scores of 395 and 315 runs in 11 ODIs and 12 T20Is respectively.
The second Test ended with India emerging victorious, resulting in a tied series of 1-1. The third Test is scheduled to be played in Rajkot from February 15.