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Former India cricketer and legend Sunil Gavaskar seems in no mood to step back from India’s 1-3 defeat in the recently-concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25. After lashing out at the Indian cricket team for his dismal show down under soon after the Sydney Test defeat, Gavaskar has now criticised Virat Kohli’s on-field antics.
Writing for a column in The Sydney Morning Herald, the legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar could not hold back and expressed his disappointment on Virat Kohli’s actions. He opined that his on-field antics simply added additional pressure on the team.
The shoulder bump is simply not cricket: Sunil Gavaskar hits out at Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli, who had a forgettable outing down under, could manage only 190 runs across five Tests and his only promising innings of 100* coming in the second Indian innings of Perth Test. He could manage 190 runs across the nine innings, at an average of 23.75. He simply added his presence with his animated gestures, including the shoulder-bump act involving Sam Konstas.
Although, Kohli was punished 20 per cent of his match fee and handed a demerit point for his act, Gavaskar opined that it wasn’t cricket. "What Kohli did with the shoulder bump is simply not cricket. Indians are not shy to retaliate if provoked, but here the provocation was simply not there. The one thing that players learn with experience is that it’s futile to try and get back at the crowds, who have come to have a good time, so booing players is never personal but just a way to entertain themselves. To react to that doesn’t do the player any good, and does more harm," Gavaskar wrote in the column.
"Kohli must understand that whatever he does to react to the crowd actually puts more pressure on his teammates, who also then become targets of the spectators. With his continued failures to avoid nibbling at the deliveries around the off-stump, he failed to make the contribution that could have boosted the total," Gavaskar added.
It is to be seen that this wasn’t the only act this time Kohli was involved into. The 36-year-old also teased the Sydney crowd in what turned out to be the final day of the BGT Test series, reminding the hosts, Australia of the infamous sandpaper gate scandal. The incident unfolded just before lunch after Steven Smith’s dismissal.
