MUMBAI: Singer Rahul Vaidya has landed himself in hot water after referring to Indian cricket star Virat Kohli as a “joker” in a series of social media posts. The remark, aimed at Kohli over his recent Instagram controversy involving actress Avneet Kaur, triggered a wave of backlash from Kohli’s massive fanbase.

The controversy began when a like from Kohli’s Instagram account on a post about Avneet Kaur caught public attention. As chatter grew online, Kohli issued a statement clarifying that the interaction was accidental, caused by an Instagram algorithm glitch. The explanation temporarily calmed things down—until Vaidya chimed in.

“Going forward, it might happen that the algorithm likes many photos I didn’t. So, girls, please don’t do PR about it, because it’s not my fault—it’s Instagram’s mistake, okay?”

The singer then doubled down after facing backlash, posting: “Virat Kohli’s fans are even bigger jokers than Virat!”

When paparazzi confronted Vaidya about his comments, he attempted to soften his stance:

“I’m also a fan of Virat Kohli, man. I didn’t call him crazy, I called him a joker.”

Adding more fuel to the fire, Vaidya later claimed that Kohli had blocked him on Instagram following the spat. However, he couldn’t resist taking another jab, suggesting that the block might also be an algorithm mishap:

“So guys, Virat Kohli has blocked me, as you all know. I think that too is an Instagram glitch. The algorithm must’ve told Virat, ‘Let me block Rahul Vaidya on your behalf.’ Right?”