The ongoing Test match between India and Australia has already witnessed heated verbal duels between the two captains – Virat Kohli and Tim Paine – taking center stage on the morning of the fourth day at Perth’s new Optus Stadium on Monday. During the 71st over bowled by Jasprit Bumrah, Kohli and Paine, who began a conversation, were engaged in a heated banter after Kohli decided to field close to the non-striker. It reached a stage that umpire Chris Gaffaney had to intervene in order to keep the things calm.
Kohli’s on-field antics has not been received positively by the former India cricketer, Sanjay Manjrekar, who feels that the Indian captain is taking his greatness for granted. During the lunch-time show on Sony SIX, he said, “…that last gesture, Virat Kohli coming in the way of Tim Paine, that was completely uncalled for. Actually, what if Kohli was not a such a great player getting all the runs that he does — some of his antics and behavior on the field would have created quite a bit of stir and got lot more criticism. It’s just that he is such a champion batsman, people are sort of accepting that.”
The Mumbai batsman also noted that the current Indian team has become a bit more aggressive so far in the series with Kohli leading from the front. He said that Kohli is arguably the aggravated person on the field on both sides and the latter can get runs despite having this kind of approach to cricket.
WATCH – Virat Kohli and Tim Paine Engages In A Banter
Manjrekar reckons Kohli’s reaction to his controversial dismissal in the first innings was uncalled for.
Talking about the same, he said, “For example, I mentioned Virat Kohli, the brand and that’s why he gets away with a lot of things. Lot of people haven’t talked about his reaction after he was given out [on Sunday]. Any other player – low profile name – I am sure would have got some kind of a warning from the referee. We have heard nothing from the officials about his behavior when he walked off. If you see that again, and at some point, we have to show it, because there’s a clear show of dissent in public that he was given out. He was mouthing something, and it was really out there for everyone to see. And I think again, the Virat Kohli brand has helped Virat Kohli not get the rap on the knuckle that he deserves.”
Manjrekar was also unhappy with Kohli’s animated celebration after the Indian skipper scored his 25th Test century – his sixth in Australia – to equal Sachin Tendulkar’s record.
Sanjay said, “I think, runs can be got in different ways. The celebration after he got a hundred, with the bat and the bat does the talking, that was totally unnecessary. Who is questioning Virat Kohli’s batsmanship that he has to show that the bat is doing all the talking.”
WATCH – Tim Paine Asks Murali Vijay If He Likes Virat Kohli
However, on the other expert on the panel – former Australia captain Michael Clarke – saw nothing wrong with an animated Kohli on the field. Clarke said that he had played against Virat and he is like that. He feels that the fans expect him to be an aggressive player and they e want him to stand up to opposition players Sourav Ganguly did.
