Sunil Gavaskar, former Indian skipper, has slammed Virat Kohli for giving a verbal send-off to England all-rounder Ben Stokes on Day 1 of the third Test against the Poms in Mohali.

Known as someone who wears his heart on his sleeves, the Indian skipper allegedly hurled some abuses at Stokes after he was stumped off Ravindra Jadeja’s bowling in the first innings. Furious with Kohli’s attitude, the English player gave Kohli a piece of his mind. With the altercation turning ugly, on-field umpire Marais Erasmus had to intervene to prevent the matter from escalating.

Here is the clip of that heated exchange:

https://twitter.com/cricketworms/status/802417304919109633?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Stokes was later given an official reprimand by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for his action and although Kohli escaped any censure from the apex body of the game, his action did not go down too well with Gavaskar.

The retired cricketer, who was commentating for BBC Test Match Special when Stokes was dismissed, severely criticised the Indian skipper for his action.

“Whatever was said, it really needs to be nipped in the bud,” Gavaskar said as reported by cricket.com.au.

“You have got the batsman out, why do you need to give him a send off? Why say anything? Just congratulate your team-mates and Parthiv Patel for a fine piece of work on his comeback. “But why say anything to the batsman? He’s upset as it is. Then what, rub salt into the wounds?”

“It’s the one part of cricket I do not approve of at all,” Gavaskar concluded.