Cheater, Cheater, Virat Kohli - The words of a Mumbaikar

In our country, there are many souls who would be closely following the IPL and everyone has an opinion on the recent dispute between Virat Kohli and the Mumbai spectators. Through this article, I am expressing solely my opinion and in no way concluding that I am correct.

The reason Kohli encountered this kind of behaviour was because some individuals assert that he did not played in the right spirit. Critics allege that he should have withdrawn the run out appeal against Rayudu because Rayudu could not make the ground because of bowler Vinay Kumar standing on the way. However, the replay clearly shows that the bowler was just backing up for the throw. When Kohli came out to bat, the crowd shouted ‘cheater, cheater’.

There have been many incidents of this sort in Mumbai.

The God of cricket, Sachin Tendulkar, also received similar treatment when he got out cheaply against England and eventually India lost the match.

In a similar sort on incident in IPL-1, the match which Mumbai lost by 1 run, Yuvraj Singh was on the receiving end. He went on to comment that “we play for India too and we deserve some respect”.

In an Irani cup match, some spectators were taken out of the stadium after booing against Harbhajan Singh

After hearing Kohli reply that it’s the job of umpire to check whether there was intentional blocking by the bowler, I completely agree with him. I mean, what was wrong in his reasoning? I know people can cite examples of cases where captains have withdrawn appeals, like Dhoni did for Ian bell, Hansie Cronje for Ganguly and Strauss for Angelo Mathews, but then it’s completely dependent on the captain. If you look at the Champions Trophy 2009 match between England and Srilanka, when Andrew Strauss recalled Angelo Mathews because he could not complete the second run since he collided with the bowler, there was a tinge of doubt in umpire’s mind and the decision was reviewed to check whether the obstruction was intentional. But there was never one in the Rayudu run out. There is nothing wrong in Kohli’s play. He is just allowing the umpires play their role and that he justified in his statement.

Thus, I personally believe that Kohli was fair in his stand and does not lack sportsman spirit. Now let’s talk of the sportsmanship of some of the current Mumbai Indians player.

In its first edition, before Rajasthan won the crown, IPL was in the news for Harbhajan slapping Sreesanth because Mumbai lost the match to Punjab. I mean, wasn’t sportsman spirit lacking there? Then the same man led the Mumbai Indians team. But still the Mumbai crowd supported him. Even in other parts of country, he was still a respected person as he plays for the nation.

The captain for Mumbai Indians in the first six matches, Ricky Ponting, is infamous for being dishonest. During the 2008 Sydney Test, when Clarke attempted for a catch at slip to dismiss Ganguly, there was a doubt as to whether the catch was clean. Umpire Mark Benson asked Ponting if the catch was clean and he said yes. Ideally, he should have asked for the third umpire decision or a review, but instead he mentioned that he had seen it and Ganguly was given out. It was clear on the big screen that the catch was taken on the bounce. Is that not a perfect example of cheating?

Kohli is always projected as the future Indian captain. I know that after the recent spat with Gambhir and this very incident, people believe that he cannot be a great captain because of his behaviour. He is being compared to Dhoni, Dravid, Ganguly and Tendulkar. These people are respected and have used actions rather than words to earn it whereas Virat is a fiery character. I have a question to ask to those individuals who believe Kohli cannot be a good captain.

Was Shane Warne a good captain for the Rajasthan Royals?

In the first IPL edition, the underdogs Rajasthan won the trophy and they were successfully led by Shane Warne. Everyone appraised Warne’s captaincy because he utilized all his resources efficiently. Currently, Dravid is leading the same team and they are performing well. Warne and Dravid are two contrasting persons. If you follow the Big Bash or could watch the highlights of this year’s match between Melbourne Stars and Melbourne Renegades, the fight between Shane Warne and Marlon Samuels would help you to understand Shane Warne as a person. Throughout his career, Shane Warne has been in the news for many verbal spats and is a fervent character.

In an Australian Domestic match, I have seen McGrath pushing Hayden strongly when Hayden smashed his delivery for a boundary. So these kind of spats do keep happening because cricketers get too involved in the game and for them every opponent is a foe. But they behave as friends when they play for the same team because everyone understands the passion to win the game.

The point I wish to say is that Virat Kohli may have his own way of leading the Indian team and to be a successful captain it is not necessary to follow the path set by predecessors. If Dhoni, Dravid and Tendulkar have achieved greatness either in captaincy or as batsmen through their modest ways, it is always not a sure shot to success. I agree that yelling at his team mate, Vinay Kumar, was not correct but let’s hope that Kohli improves with time, learns the basics and helps Indian cricket achieve great heights through his own ways.