That everything was not fine between Virat Kohli and Harsha Bhogle was very much clear when the India batting star had taken an indirect dig at the ace commentator after the Test series against South Africa in 2015.
India had won the series 3-0 but faced a lot of flak due to the nature of the pitches. Reacting to the widespread criticism, Kohli had said:
“Someone who hasn’t played for the country has no right to comment on an international cricketer anyway. I don’t think that has any kind of logic. You cannot sit there and say how you would have done something differently when you have not been in that situation yourself and don’t have the mindset of a cricketer.”
Bhogle retaliated by saying:
“By suggesting that those who hadn’t played international cricket had no right to talk about how the game should be played, he was in effect making a comment on how the media should go about things which, by his own measure and given he hasn’t been part of it, he cannot sit in judgement over.”
A few months later, the commentator was removed from the commentary box after his contract was terminated by the BCCI. Bhogle was criticised for his commentary during the World T20 last year, where he was accused by many including Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan for focusing more on other teams instead of India. He was removed from the commentary panel since then and is yet to receive an offer from the Indian Cricket Board.
Right after Bhogle’s contract termination, a report in The Hindu had suggested three potential reasons behind his unceremonious exit.
According to the report, Bhogle was alleged to have had a heated debate with a Vidarbha Cricket Association official over not being allowed to pass through the VIP box at Nagpur to switch from the Hindi to English commentary during India’s WT20 opener against New Zealand. The report further claimed a renowned cricketer-commentator declined to go on air with Bhogle while the third reason stated that two senior Indian cricketers had expressed their displeasure to Bhogle over the views expressed by him.
However, a report in Bengali daily Sangbad Pratidin has come up with another reason which according to them might have played a big role in Bhogle’s contract termination. The report has claimed that Kohli and Murali Vijay had some differences with Bhogle which deteriorated the matter for the commentator.
During India’s tour of Australia in 2014, Vijay had expressed his frustration with Bhogle. The incident had happened when the India opener was asked by Bhogle on camera whether he felt bad to not get a century after he got out for 53 in the first innings in Adelaide Test. The Tamil Nadu opener did not react to the question on the spot but vented his frustration in the dressing room. He had reportedly told his teammates that Bhogle shouldn’t have made such comments as he was not batting on a flat track in India.
Another incident that worsened Bhogle’s relation with the Indian team took place during the 2016 Asia Cup when his observations had infuriated Kohli. During India’s group stage match against Bangladesh, Bhogle had said Kohli was playing more shots than what he was scoring. Angry with his remark, Kohli had confronted the commentator and asked:“Why did you make such comments?”
The report claimed that Bhogle tried to pacify Kohli by sending him messages on WhatsApp but it did not make any difference as just a few days after the incident, Bhogle faced the axe.