Kohli and Co back Mukund's emotional tweet on racial abuse

Mukund, on Wednesday tweeted a post about fair not being the "only lovely or handsome."

Kohli, Pandya, Bengal batsman Manoj Tiwary, off-spinner Ashwin supported the youngster and appreciated him.

Kohli tweeted: "Very well said Abhinav" while Ashwin said: "Read and learn, don't make it a headline cos its someone's emotion."

Women's doubles badminton star Jwala Gutta also supported him and said: "Corrrrrectttt"

Recalling his past, Mukund, who scored 81 in the second innings in the first Test against Sri Lanka at Galle, wrote: "I have been playing cricket since the age of 10 and I have gradually climbed up the ladder to where I am right now."

"It is an honour to get the chance to represent the country at the highest level. I am writing today not to garner sympathy or attention but...with the hope to change the mindset of people on an issue I feel strongly about.

"I have been travelling a lot within and outside our country since I was 15. Ever since I was young, people's obsession with my skin colour has always been a mystery to me. Anyone who follows cricket would understand the obvious. 

"I have played and trained day in and day out in the sun and not once have I regretted the fact that I have tanned or lost a couple of shades," he wrote.

The Tamil Nadu southpaw further wrote: "It is simply because I love what I do and I have been able to achieve certain things only because I have spent hours outdoor. I come from Chennai, probably one of the hottest places in our country and I have gladly spent most of my adult life in the cricket ground.

The 27-year-old concluded the note by saying that one has to be comfortable in his own skin.

"I have laughed and shrugged it off because I had bigger goals! Affected young, I toughened up because this was never something that would pull me down. There were many times when I chose not to dignify these insults with responses," Mukund said.

"With the rise of social media, it has gone to a magnitude that I see people hurling abuses left, right and centre at something I have absolutely no control over. Fair isn't the only lovely or handsome guys.

"Stay true, stay focussed, be comfortable in your own skin", he added.