the start of the ipl marks the end of a sixmonth enforced break from the game for indias cricketers due to the pandemic the likes of virat kohli and jasprit bumrah have been away from the incessant public glare that they are accustomed to and yet they have neither been out of sight nor mindthanks to the hyperconnected world of social media todays cricketers are able to stay relevant and establish a personal connect with their fansread alsoipl 2020 full schedule dates match timings and venuesfollowing is the complete fixture of indian premier league 2020 to be held in the uae starting september 19these stars allow their followers a window into their own personal world their use of social media ranges from promoting social causes as the likes of kohlikl rahul and yuzvendra chahal recently did by auctioning their prized possessions to help the victims of the assam and bihar floods to runofthemill stuff like neighbours kohli and shreyas iyer sharing the latters homemade dosas during lockdownthe world of social media has also emerged as the ideal platform for cricketers to convey lifealtering developments while ms dhoni announced his exit from international cricket with just a brief message and montage on instagram kohli used twitter to convey to his 38 million followers that he and his wife anushka sharma are expecting a child in january next yearthis trend is a clear reflection of the fact that cricketers just like politicians film stars and other celebrities have grasped the changing landscape and are now bypassing mainstream media to directly reach the masses and shape their own narratives this is the age of retweets and instagram lives and a celebritys stature in society can be seemingly shaped by the number of followers on his timelineas former india allrounder irfan pathan who uses social media to also take a stand on sociopolitical issues points out covid19 and the ensuing lockdown have accentuated the importance of social media for cricketers during the intense lockdown i was more active than earlier because i was at home and had more time i wish social media was there when i started my career obviously now you can directly connect with fans and read their comments so it is a useful tool he told toithe online space has also enabled cricketers to showcase diverse skills and interests australia opener david warner spent a considerable chunk of his lockdown grooving to bollywood songs and showing his neat footwork off the field offspinner r ashwin seamlessly adapted to the role of the interviewer drawing out interesting anecdotes from his colleagueswith the ipl kicking off the social media frenzy is only expected to soar in the coming weeks at a time when facetoface interactions with fans are not possible due to the pandemic franchises are using their social media pages effectively to engage with their audience and provide regular updatesmumbai indians for instance have released a teaser of rohit sharma appearing in a weekly series called captains