Nothing to rave about this rage

Virat Kohli continues to portray his angry young man image and who is to say he doesnt enjoy doing so During the 201415 World Cup in Australia he picked a fight with a journalist who was in no way connected to his grouse girlfriend Anushka being blamed for his poor form on the 2014 tour of England More recently he responded unpleasantly to an Indian journalist who asked him whether tags like the best Indian team in 15 years put pressure on his teamYes the question was asked soon after India lost the fifth and final Test to make the scoreline 14 at the Oval in London Yes the question ought to have mentioned Ravi Shastri because it was the head coach who indicated after the defeat in Southampton that this Indian teams success in such a short time was a 15year exclusive Yet the question to Kohli was a fair one and I wonder what some pundits mean when they say it was a loaded oneHow should Kohli have responded to a question like that Offer no comments Utter next question please Tell the journalist to direct his question to Shastri Instead the bruised captain insisted that it was only right to believe that his side were the best before going on to ask the journalist what he thought about it Thats where Kohli erred because there was no way anyone well except himself and Shastri would have agreed that this side deserved a premium rating And so the journalists Im not sure response was expected Ditto Kohlis That is your opinionKohli is a brilliant batsman and no one in world cricket comes close even if Steve Smith was not serving his ban However four seasons into the job he still has to get a firm grip on captaincy and that includes getting his team combination right Doubtless he has a lot to learn about handling the media too and I suspect theres a big cracker in him that is yet to burstWhile mediabashers would screw their faces at any one of us suggesting that Kohli should handle things better at press conferences the fairminded among the Press fraternity also realise that the media is not right all the time Questions that are unfair and inane need to be stalled and thats probably where the Boardappointed media manager conducting the press conference should come into playSadly the relations between the team and the media have not improved after the Test series in South Africa where Kohli reacted sharply when he was asked whether his team were well balanced in the first two Tests Media relations could well deteriorate on the tour of Australia unless Kohli decides to take lessons on how to tackle the media Just like the players cannot be accessible available and amiable all the time the media cannot be expected to be cheerleadersHandling the media is no easy task The best of captains have not been very good at it While some made improvements others ended their careers and rued the fact that they couldnt crack the media code as it were Sourav Ganguly was smart instinctive but never rude Sachin Tendulkar who led India before him displayed amazing patience even in the throes of adversity When India were on the losing side match after match during the 19992000 tour of Australia never once did he shy away from a media briefing Rahul Dravid who also had his share of downs never gave the impression of cracking under pressureOn the international front Australias Mark Taylor stood out He was fair but firm I remember being among a group of journalists who were seeking some prematch comments before Australia played South Africa in the 1996 Titan Cup triangular series at Faridabad Taylor acknowledged his media duties and agreed to talk to us When we suggested he speak to us at one end of his dressing room as rival captain Hansie Cronje had done a while ago for want of a media briefing area at the ground Taylor refused and so the press conference took place in an uncomfortable corner but not the dressing roomIt was a forgettable series for the winless Australians and Taylor didnt shy away from tough talk Disappointed Oh very much so Maybe they the team are a little disoriented They are not quite there with their cricket he said Poor performances can never be defended It should be appreciated that everyone cant be the same and Kohli is markedly different He could well choose to adopt the same combative approach but if that leads to a bigger usversusthem scenario with regards to the media then its not healthyDown the years Kohli may regret having a go at the journalist in London He could well compare it to a rubber band snapping At the moment he seems to be living in a whirlpool and that is understandable considering the kind of pressure an India cricket captain has to deal with Hed do well to view criticism like how Taylor did in his book Time to Declare mdash like going to the dentist mdash noone likes it but its a fact of life in the sporting spotlightmiddays group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stance He tweets ClaytonMurzello Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomCatch up on all the latest 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