Virat Kohli is certainly one of the best batsman the world has ever seen. His exploits in all the 3 forms bears testimony to that fact. Among his contemporaries, Root is the only one who can come close the Kohli’s mastery across all the formats, whereas, Williamson and Smith lack consistent performances in the short formats. However, his on-field outrageous behaviour is certainly not doing anything good for the game or for the team. This has gone on for too long and it must stop. Let me try to put my case forward for Kohli and his outrageous on-field behaviour.
Kohli’s attitude towards his team members
From the time Kohli was made the captain, he seems to think that he is a larger than life figure. He is under the impression that the entire Indian team revolves around him and that only he can perform at the highest level. He seems to think that the others in the team are there just to make up the numbers. In the recently concluded series in Australia, Ashwin made a comment that the players felt much more relaxed at Melbourne.
Rahane was the captain in that test and Kohli wasn’t even there in Australia. This signifies the fear or the intimidation that the players feel when Kohli is around the team. If a captain can intimidate a senior player like Ashwin what hope does a junior like Shubnam Gill or Pant can have? They will be absolutely terrified of Kohli. It is one thing to be in awe of someone but it is quite the opposite to be afraid of the same person.
In the case of Kohli, it is the latter. This clearly signals that Kohli has failed in man-management. He wants everyone to follow him and certainly does not approve of any statements or comments to the contrary. During a game, Kohli can be clearly seen abusing or staring at a player when that player had made a mistake.
Case in point
There were couple of lovely moments during the Australian tour of 2020 and both involving Rahane. In the first test, Kohli was runout because of Rahane’s mistake and in the second test, Rahane was runout because of Jadeja’s mistake. The way both of the reacted told the whole story. Kohli walked away while glaring at Rahane all the way whereas Rahane just patted Jadeja and walked away. Mind you, I am not a big fan of Rahane being in the team. If at all he must play, he must play as captain only and not as a batsman.
It certainly looks like Kohli has enormous clout and he is using his power to the fullest extent. The Anil Kumble saga comes to mind. Kumble left his coaching role stating that his position with Kohli had become untenable. Kumble as we all know is a genial but a tough man when it comes to the team and the game. If Kohli had managed to ruffle the feathers of such a person, nothing more needs to be said.
Kohli’s attitude towards the opposition
Kohli’s on-field behaviour towards the opposition is the worst by any player leave alone the captain of a team. His celebration after the fall of a wicket and especially when he is under pressure had definitely crossed the borders of decency on more than one occasion. There are so many examples of such stupid behaviour. YouTube is full of Kohli abusing the opposition. He not only denigrates the game but he also denigrates the Indian team and as an extension the entire Indian nation itself. There is growing realisation that Kohli is considered a disgrace to the nation because of his behaviour.
There have been poorly behaved players. Warne, Steve Waugh, Ponting, Anderson and a few others but no one absolutely no one can be compared to Kohli. Kohli has stooped to such a low that anyone else will always be above him in terms of behaviour.
Towards the start of 2020, India lost 2 tests in New Zealand under Kohli. Towards the end of the 2nd test, Kohli abused the monk of cricket Kane Williamson with unprintable words. Shouldn’t he have realised that New Zealand are only 10 runs away from winning the series 2-0? More recently, against England in Chennai in 2021, he reacted to the wicket of Burns by swearing at England’s dugout and England at that point were ahead by 250 runs. His brush with Tim Paine in 2008 is rather well known.
Impotent commentators and media
What makes the whole thing a farce is the silence of the commentators, former players and the media. Even Sunil Gavaskar who played cricket when West Indies were ruling without abusing anyone, refuses to speak up against Kohli behaviour. It is onething for Karthik or Siva or Dasgupta not to criticise Kohli because they are fearful for their job. Criticising Kohli means they will lose their contract as Harsha Bhogle found out when he criticised Dhoni. I really cannot understand why a Gavaskar or for that matter non-Indian commentators refuse to condemn Kohli? Gavaskar has reached a point in his life where he does not need to worry about money. He is at an age which has past retirement age in the corporate world. He certainly must condemn Kohli for his behaviour.
It is really unfortunate that in the current series against England, Indians are not able to listen to Nass, Athers & Bumble. Hopefully, they would have condemned Kohli.
The refusal of the former players and the commentators to condemn Kohli’s on-field behaviour seems to imply that they would rather condone his on-field actions. They always give the excuse that that is the way Kohli plays. It is aggression and not abuse. Complete nonsense.
Kohli’s attitude is in stark contrast to that of the fellow international captains. Root, Williamson & Holder for sample. All of them are firm but they respect the game and the opposition. They are captains of the highest order and unlike Kohli who resembles more of a thug. George Dobell has written this beautiful piece in which he has a subtle hint about Kohli denigrating the game and the opposition.
Conclusion
It is time the BCCI and the ICC takes up this issue seriously. They will do well do warn Kohli once to change his behaviour. If Kohli refuses, action must be taken against him. It could be to the tune of banning him for 1-2 years. Abusive on-field behaviour is quite serious and must be tackled with all firmness. This not only makes viewing tough but it also clutters the minds of younger generation. Knowing that the BCCI is a spineless body, the ICC must impose strict penalty on Kohli. If the big fish is taken care of, the little ones will fall in its place.