New Delhi: Even Ravi Shastri, who shares a close bond with Virat Kohli and supports the aggressive brand of cricket he plays on the field, strongly criticised the Indian batter’s actions on the opening day of the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Despite his affinity for Kohli, Shastri strongly condemned the former skipper for shoulder-barging young Australian debutant Sam Konstas, calling the incident “totally unnecessary.”
What more is needed to prove Kohli’s unacceptable behaviour, when a person like Shastri, who himself was a strong advocate of an aggressive approach in cricket and always encouraged his players to give it back to the opponents, was one of the harshest critiques of Kohli, who was the skipper of the team during his time as Team India coach.
Shastri’s strong criticism speaks a lot about Kohli’s actions
“That was unnecessary. Totally unnecessary. You don’t want to see that. Virat’s a senior player, he’s been captain of the Indian cricket team. He will have his own explanations with regards to that incident. But it’s something you don’t want to see. One person who will be watching — his eyes will be locked into the proceedings — will be Andy Pycroft,” said Shastri during the broadcast of the match.
The controversy erupted in the first session of Day 1 of the ongoing Boxing Day Test when both players were returning to their positions after the 10th over had ended.
Should Kohli learn how to behave from a 19-year-old?
Replays clearly showed Kohli deliberately changed his trajectory, while walking with the ball in his hand, bumping into Konstas without any provocation and exchanging words with the youngster following the collision. Unlike the veteran India, the 19-year-old, who idolises Kohli, showed maturity beyond his age and walked away from the incident.
He let his bat do the talking with some astonishing shots and took on world number one bowler Jasprit Bumrah like no one else has ever thought of doing against the ace speedster.
Even in his post-match comments, Konstas downplayed the incident, explaining that Kohli had accidentally bumped into him. Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley considered his response remarkably mature for a teenager.
Meanwhile, Kohli was later fined 20 per cent of his match fees and recieved one demerit point for the uncalled-for incident, which left everyone in disbelief. A day later, he was caught arguing with the fans while returning to the dressing room.
Arrogant Kohli can’t digest seeing arrogance in a youngster
Konstas’ innings was full of arrogance. After missing out on the ramp shot on two occasions, the young superstar was audacious enough to successfully play three ramp shots in one over against Bumrah, hitting the pacer for two boundaries and one maximum, leaving the fans and pundits in disbelief.
Perhaps, Kohli’s actions were born out of frustration for he who has built his entire career on arrogance couldn’t digest seeing it in a youngster. Kohli, who dominated the front page of several Australian tabloids ahead of the series, branded him a ‘clown’ and ‘crybaby’ after the Konstas incident.
From hero to clown: Kohli’s image deteriorates
Kohli’s relations with Australian media have nosedived dramatically. Before the Konstas clash at MCG, he was caught by the cameras confronting a female reporter at the Melbourne airport and was termed a ‘bully’ for his rude behaviour.
During the 2014 Tour Down, Virat Kohli famously said “Don’t respect Aussies who don’t respect me”. Not long ago, there was nothing but respect between Virat Kohli and the Aussies, but the twin Melbourne controversies have changed the dynamics of the relationship dramatically.
Or perhaps, Kohli, the controversy’s favourite child who gets motivated by confrontation and altercations, walked on a desperate path to regain his form by stirring an unnecessary controversy.
Familiar frailties bring Kohli down
The possible ploy of refuelling his form with the fuel of hate and criticism seemed to work for the Delhi dasher on Day 2. But just when he looked set for a big score the familiar frailties outside off stump came back to haunt him.
Kohli restrained himself from poking outside off for 85 balls but made the same mistake fourth time in a row in the series. The urge to feel the ball consumed the mind of the modern great who again fell into the trap of the Aussies and walked back to the pavillion for 36 following a fatal push at a length ball outside off.
Thus continued the struggle of Kohli who would have taken a huge sigh of relief after breaking his 16-month century drought with a superb ton in the first Test in Perth. But despite the morale-boosting knock in the opener, Kohli has failed to carry the momentum in the series. Apart from the century in Perth, Kohli’s other five knocks have yielded just 62 runs.
But his antiques on the field, behaviour and body language have emerged as far bigger issues than his batting form.
While it’s understandable for an athlete to get agitated in a highly competitive environment, unprovoked reactions and unnecessary actions are superficial and are not necessarily born out of situations.
Kohli, who is known for his mental strength, discipline, and self-confidence, once used to rule his mind to dictate terms. But at the twilight of his career, is his mind ruling him, playing tricks and making him overthink?
Virat Kohli’s behaviour on the Australia tour raises concerns about his on-field conduct and frame of mind, overshadowing his recent struggles with batting form. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
