The Indian cricket team’s new-found aggression which has resulted in a few on-field altercations has drawn criticism but Test skipper Virat Kohli on Wednesday refused to be drawn into the brouhaha surrounding the approach. Indian pace spearhead Ishant Sharma was handed a one-Test suspension for the aggressive sendoffs he gave to Sri Lankan batsmen during the recent away series. His on-field behaviour has drawn flak from former players such as Bishan Singh Bedi and Sanjay Manjrekar.
Asked how much Ishant’s absence will hurt India against South Africa, a curt Kohli replied, “I am not answering that question. Not what happened earlier, nor what is going to happen next, neither on captaincy nor on the coach.” While he was not asked on who could possibly be India’s next coach, Kohli took it upon himself to state that he would not answer any question related to the matter. Virat has time and again spoken about Ravi Shastri being his preferred choice as mentor of the team. When someone asked if he has evolved as a player to take over as captain in all formats, Kohli retorted, “That was a nice try but again it is a question on my captaincy.”
Asked if he would play a game against Bangladesh to get into limited overs mould, Virat said, “I think we have played enough cricket. I don’t know what’s going to happen in next four hours. It’s still some time, I will see then.” On a lighter note, he did admit that it is the “Delhi instinct” that works at times. “Yes, you can say that Delhi instinct kicks in when I am playing. But if you are talking about typical Delhi boy, I can talk about myself, I try to do the right things,” he said at a promotional event here. He spoke about “hard work and self belief” being key ingredients of success. He also took the opportunity to express his “commitment” for actress girlfriend Anushka Sharma. “I am a committed man,” he said when asked how he reacts to adulation from his female fans.
PTI