Virat Kohli’s team could end up being one of the best sides in the history of cricket. While they have truly boarded the bus for that journey, the air of invincibility shouldn’t be polluted by accusations of poor behaviour
India pacer Mohammed Siraj exchanges words with England batsman Ollie Robinson during Day Five of the second Test at Lord’s Cricket Ground on Aug 16. Pic/Getty Images
Virat Kohli won early bragging rights in what should correctly be called the Pataudi Trophy (something which the BCCI do not seem to recognise) at the Lord’s Cricket Ground in London on Monday.
His team played out of their skin to beat England by 151 runs in the second Test of the five-match series.
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Not many could have imagined Kohli’s side would be running back victoriously to the opulent pavilion at the end of the day, when they walked on to a burning deck at 209-8; effectively 182-8 considering England’s 27-run first innings lead.
But Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah refused to be either conquered or bullied by England’s aggression. Pundits reckoned Kohli had delayed the declaration, thus giving his bowlers limited time to bowl out their opposition. Kohli declared when he wanted to, at 298-8, and bowled out England for India to claim their second in their last three Tests at the spiritual home of cricket.
There was bound to be a lot of chat when England came in to bat and that’s pretty accepted nowadays. But Kohli took things too far with the sledging. He is known for not taking a backward step and he lived up to that literally, walking up to Ollie Robinson and giving him a mouthful for something the Englishman had said earlier in the game.
“Things are said on the field, from fielding positions. It is different when you see a player furiously running up to the opponent and mouthing and gesticulating at them,” was how my Bangalore friend Vincent Sunder felt when he saw a full-on Kohli on Monday.
Jos Buttler was another recipient of Kohli’s verbals. The exchange seemed to affect Kohli because he dropped Buttler in the next over.
There must have been a good level of provocation and you don’t expect sportspersons to turn the proverbial cheek, but Kohli carrying on with things made for a damn ugly sight. Such occurrences need more condemnation. Those who have watched Fire in Babylon, that wonderful film on West Indies cricket, will remember a clip early in the film wherein television commentator Geoff Boycott isn’t impressed with something that happened during a West Indies v England game. “I really don’t care whether you are a West Indian or Englishman, that cannot be right in cricket,” Boycott told his viewers as the camera zoomed in on Vivian Richards. He was referring to the Test that was held at Barbados in 1990, when Richards indulged in wild celebration as soon as wicketkeeper Jeff Dujon completed a leg-side gathering to a Curtly Ambrose delivery. The ball had brushed right-hander Robert Bailey’s thigh pad. Boycott was incensed and stressed the point that Richards was the West Indies captain after all, and his fellow commentator Tony Greig felt that Richards had influenced the umpire’s decision with his celebration.
Wicket celebrations are different compared to what they were in 1990. A lot of cricketers are football fans and though it’s Pele’s beautiful game, there are ugly sides to it, which cricketers are replicating on their turf. Surely, it’s not only Kohli or Australia or England. Poor behaviour is well spread across the cricketing globe at several levels.
Chatter is at the heart of the problem and it is here where the supervisors of games are not doing enough. England indulged in it as well. If umpires and referees continue to pass it off as part of the game, who is to say that a physical blow won’t follow a show of rage? At the time of writing, nothing has been heard from the International Cricket Council (ICC) in terms of penalties and behaviour. In other words, the match referee Chris Broad found nothing objectionable in the Lord’s Test. That the match referee is from the host nation is another astounding aspect of world cricket administration. If players are travelling overseas for matches, why not match referees and umpires?
Meanwhile, all those who blatantly transgress the spirit of the game should be asked to watch footage of the Olympic Games and learn how to respectfully compete. Those participants get a chance every four years and still find some dignity.
Yes, most of India wants their players to be aggressive and tough but should their actions appear crass while displaying those qualities? Kohli leads a fine, formidable and feisty team for whom the sky is the limit. They are so good that they could end up being one of the best sides in the history of the game. And while they have well and truly boarded the bus for that journey, the air of invincibility shouldn’t be polluted by accusations of poor behaviour.
That a captain’s qualities rub off on the rest of his team cannot be bad, but if a young player like Mohammad Siraj feels that there is nothing wrong with going up to a dismissed batsman and giving him a killer stare, then there is a problem.
Captain Kohli, whose fine 2019 World Cup gesture of telling the English crowds not to boo Australian batting star Steven Smith on his return from the ball tampering ban should not be forgotten. He won the ICC’s Spirit of Cricket award for it! Kohli does represent young India in changing times that we must embrace, understand and accept. But his playing field is the gentleman’s game, where he must also represent what an ideal India should be: hard, professional and gracious.
mid-day’s group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stance. He tweets @ClaytonMurzello
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The views expressed in this column are the individual’s and don’t represent those of the paper
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