India vs New Zealand, 1st Test: Kanpur’s viral star denies chewing ‘gutkha’, here’s his side of the story

The person, identified as Shobit Pandey, now popular as ‘Gutkha Man’, is a resident of Maheshwari Mahol in Kanpur (Photo: Twitter)

Kanpur’s ‘gutkha man’ goes viral! A Kanpur resident who instantly rose to fame after a video of him chewing ‘gutkha’ (tobacco/pan masala) as he speaks on phone surfaced on the internet and went viral in no time. The video of him chewing gutkha during the opening day of the ongoing first Test between India and New Zealand is doing rounds on social media. The memes of popular ‘Gutkha man’ have also been shared by some of the well-known personalities such as former Indian batter Wasim Jaffer and poet Dr Kumar Vishwas.

कानहीपुर में मैच अहै आज ????❤️???????????? pic.twitter.com/MpNVGstBZF

— Dr Kumar Vishvas (@DrKumarVishwas) November 25, 2021

The person, identified as Shobit Pandey, now popular as ‘Gutkha Man’, is a resident of Maheshwari Mahol in Kanpur. He went viral after he was caught on camera chatting on the phone with someone and chewing tobacco in very popular Kanpur style.

#Gutka King from #Kanpur pic.twitter.com/40CgdiV3pp

— Bhavya Ho ! (@MeBhavya) November 26, 2021

Speaking to the news agency ANI Pandey clarified that he was chewing sweet supari (betel nut) and not gutkha or tobacco during the Test match.

“First of all, I would like to clarify that I wasn’t eating tobacco. I was eating betel nut and was on call with my friend, who was also watching the match in the same stadium but in a different stand,” Shobit Pandey told ANI. He added that he was on a call for not more than ten second and the video of the conversation got viral. “My friend whom I was on call with was the one who broke the news to me that the video has gone viral. It went like a fire,” he continued.

Pandey, in fact, again came to watch the Test clash at the Green Park Stadium, with a placard which read: “Eating tobacco is a bad habit”, in Hindi.

#KanpurTest Guthka wale bhaiyya’s msg to the public today. #IndiaVsNewZealand pic.twitter.com/7cJZDpRGy0

— krishnamurthy (@krishna0302) November 26, 2021

Shobhit Pandey reaction on viral ‘gutkha’ video

Reacting to the response that video has generated, Shobhit said that he was happy that his video went viral and even celebrities joined and shared the video. However, he also said that he was quite disappointed by the poor remarks that were posted about his sister who had accompanied him at the stadium and was also seen in the viral video.

“I didn’t do anything wrong, that is why I am not scared or embarrassed about this. I am just concerned that some people are passing nasty comments about my sister. And on the other hand, I am getting numerous calls from media houses and other people regarding the whole scenario and now I am getting irritated,” said Pandey.

“People behind the screen, writing comments should understand that she is someone’s daughter and sister before passing any comments”, he added. Pandey also claimed that he will quit chewing tobacco.

#Gutka King from #Kanpur pic.twitter.com/40CgdiV3pp

— Bhavya Ho ! (@MeBhavya) November 26, 2021

What’s up with the Test match

New Zealand dominated India on the third day of the first Test match in Kanpur on Saturday. Earlier on Friday, Tim Southee scalped five wickets that helped New Zealand to bundle India for 345 on the second day of the test match. Kiwis had a rather excellent day as they ended on 129/0 after an unerring opening stand between Will Young and Tom Latham. For India, Shreyas Iyer hit his maiden ton before New Zealand bundled the hosts out for 345.