New Delhi: When Virat Kohli shot to prominence, he claimed the spotlight for two things – his talent and his fiery on-field demeanour. Be it any opposition or the crowd, Kohli didn’t hold himself back in taking on a player or any spectator if they came head-to-head against him. While his on-field spats with players are widely known, an instance of him engaging with the crowd brought him very near to a match ban.
The incident, which has now become well-known due to one “iconic” photograph, took place during India’s tour of Australia in 2011-12. It was the second Test match between the two nations that was played in Sydney. On the second day, Kohli was heckled by the Australian fans near the boundary ropes. At first, Kohli dealt with the abusive crowd but when he felt he couldn’t anymore, he raised his middle finger to them in retaliation.
Virat Kohli gestures with his middle finger to the crowd during the 2nd Test Match between Australia and India at the Sydney Cricket Ground on January 4, 2012. (Photo – Getty Images)
The gesture caused widespread controversy with many media outlets and cricket pundits criticising Kohli. He responded to the heavy flak with a tweet on “X” where he wrote, “i agree cricketers dont have to retaliate. what when the crowd says the worst things about your mother and sister. the worst ive heard.” Kohli complained that the crowd wasn’t easy on him and abused him and his family members.
i agree cricketers dont have to retaliate. what when the crowd says the worst things about your mother and sister. the worst ive heard
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) January 4, 2012
Kohli’s chat with referee
The International Cricket Council (ICC) subsequently fined Kohli 50% of his match fee for the Code of Conduct breach, citing “unsportsmanlike behaviour”. Kohli, in an interview with Wisden, opened up on the controversy and recalled how he requested the match referee Ranjan Madugalle to not ban him.
“Yeah, the one thing I remember most is when I’d had enough of the Australian crowd at Sydney and I just decided to flick a finger at them. ‘I’m so cool’. The match referee called me to his room the next day and I’m like, ‘What’s wrong?’. He said, ‘What happened at the boundary yesterday?’. I said, ‘Nothing, it was a bit of banter’,” Kohli said.
He added that Madugalle then threw a newspaper at him where he was on the front page with the offensive gesture and said straight, ” I’m so sorry, please don’t ban me…”. The referee reportedly asked him to admit his guilt which Kohli did and got away with the 50% match fee deduction.
Virat Kohli’s aggressive nature is well-known by the cricket fanatics, an example of which was also seen during the 2011-12 IND vs AUS Test series when he came close to a match ban for ‘unsportsmanlike behaviour’. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
