Former India opener Gautam Gambhir hit out Virat Kohli’s ‘immature’ behaviour after the controversial DRS call in the second innings of South Africa in Cape Town. Gambhir opined that the Indian captain’s reactions were exaggerated and coach Rahul Dravid should have a word with him.
In the final session of the third day’s play, Dean Elgar was adjudged LBW off the bowling of Ashwin but as the batter reviewed the decision, the hawk-eye projection showed the ball going over the stumps and it left every Indian player furious. Ashwin immediately said through stump mic, “You got to find better ways to win, Supersport.”
“Dravid would have never reacted in this manner”- Virat Kohli
Kohli also walked towards stumps and said, “Focus on your team while they shine the ball. Not just the opposition. Trying to catch people all the time.”
Talking to Star Sports in the post-match show, Gambhir looked furious over Kohli’s behaviour as he said that it would set a wrong precedent for youngsters.
“This is really bad. What Kohli did, going near the stump mic and reacting in that manner, that is really immature. This is not what you expect from an international captain, from an Indian captain. Then technology isn’t in your hand. Then you have reacted in the same manner when there was a caught-behind appeal on the leg-side, neither did Dean Elgar react in that manner. During that Mayank Agarwal appeal, it looked OUT from the naked eye, but Elgar did not react in that manner,” Gambhir said.
He urged India coach Rahul Dravid to have a word with him. This is Kohli’s 68th Test match as captain as Gambhir expects him to behave more maturely as these things are part and parcel of the game. Gambhir also felt that India let the focus shift as they conceded too many runs after that controversy.
“No matter what you say, stuff like he plays with his heart on his sleeve, this reaction was an exaggerated one and you can’t be a role model in this manner. No budding cricketers would want to see this kind of a reaction, especially from the Indian captain. No matter the result in this Test match, this is not what you expect from a Test captain who has led the team for so long. I hope Rahul Dravid has a word with him, because the type of captain Dravid was, he would have never reacted in this manner,” he added.
At the close of the play, South Africa scored 101/2 as the skipper Dean Elgar was caught down the leg side on the last ball of the day as they need another 111 runs.
Also read “We Saw It, You Saw It, I’ll Leave That To The Match Referee To Have A Look At It”- Paras Mhambrey