The ICC CEO David Richardson said on Thursday (31 January) that the Indian skipper Virat Kohli is the great ambassador for the cricket. He also said that the Indian national cricket team is a well-behaved team.
Recently, Richardson was present in the World Cup-related promotional event at New Delhi. At there, he spoke about the impact of players’ behaviours in the game.
Richardson praised the Indian skipper Virat Kohli as he called him the great ambassador for the game. The former South African cricketer pointed out Kohli’s passion about every cricket format.
The ICC CEO quoted, “Virat Kohli is the great ambassador for the game. He talks passionately not about T20 cricket but Test cricket and 50-over cricket and I think all the good players want to play all formats of the game.”
Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul Talk-show controversy
The Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya and the batsman KL Rahul recently faced the suspensions for making inappropriate comments on women in a Koffee with Karan. Both apologised to the national board for their actions and later, their suspensions have been lifted. However, they still have to face the inquiry.
When Richardson was asked about that issue, he told the reporters, “That’s the issue for the member country to worry about and generally the Indian team is a well-behaved team. They come to matches and accept the umpire’s decision. They play in the right spirit.”
There is also a big question on BCCI’s handling the issue of Pandya-Rahul’s talk-show controversy. The inquiry process still hasn’t started yet and they had some freakish decision on this serious matter.
Talking about BCCI’s handling that issue, Richardson said, “Yes, we hope that India would sort it out soon but from a global prospective, it’s not a huge issue.”
India’s focus more on fitness: Richardson
The Indian cricket team is currently dominating in international cricket. Recently, they have created a history in Australia by winning their first ever Test and ODI bilateral series in that country. Also, they are currently dominating in the ongoing New Zealand tour.
Talking about India’s present domination in world-cricket, Richardson credits India’s focus on fitness quality. He hugely praised India’s fielding and bowling units.
Richardson said, “I think it’s a natural progression, India always have the potential, millions of people play the game and love the game and things in this country have proved tremendously.
“Their focus more on fitness, Virat Kohli is there, [Mahendra Singh] Dhoni was a catalyst for them. Their focus on bowling and fielding is better…Now they have depth in every field, fast-bowling, spinners, they have a good team at the moment.”
The Indian cricket team is one of the favourite sides for the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup. The 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup will be held in England and Wales from 30 May to 14 July.