"For too long Virat has got away with behavior which is unacceptable on a cricket field" - Daryll Cullinan lambasts Indian captain

Former South African batter Daryll Cullinan has lashed out at Virat Kohli for his outburst after an lbw decision against Dean Elgar was overturned courtesy of the DRS. According to Cullinan, for way too long Kohli has got away with unacceptable behavior on the cricket field.

There was a massive DRS controversy on Day 3 of the Cape Town Test after the South African captain was given not out by the TV umpire when he was on 22. Ravichandran Ashwin struck Elgar in front of the stumps and was given out lbw by on-field umpire Marais Erasmus.

To the naked eye, it looked like a straightforward leg before but to the horror of the Indians, ball-tracking showed the delivery missing the stumps. Among the many rants from the fielding side, captain Kohli was heard on the stump mic saying:

"Focus on your team as well and not just the opposition.”

Cullinan was least impressed with Kohli’s behavior. He lamented that the Indian captain can get away with it since his team is the powerhouse of cricket. Speaking on ESPNCricinfo, he said:

“This is the typical Virat’s untouchable, he behaves the way he wants to behave. The rest of the cricket world just bows down to Virat. The powerhouse is India. I hate to say this but it’s been going on for years. It’s just the big suck up towards India and anybody who plays for India. They are untouchable, so everyone will laugh it off.”

The former South African batter added that the Indian skipper and his team went too far with their allegations over the DRS decision. According to him, Virat in particular must be reprimanded. Mincing no words, the 54-year-old commented:

“I love Virat Kohli, I love his cricket, I love the way he plays. But there has to be a line drawn somewhere to say ‘hang on, you must be severely punished’. If anything, it was a mistake. I just cannot believe that they could think along those sort of lines. For too long Virat has got away with behavior which is unacceptable on a cricket field. But he’s Kohli and I don’t like it, quite frankly.”

India lost their focus after the lbw controversy, allowing Elgar and Keegan Petersen to score some easy runs. There was some respite for India before Stumps as the South African captain was out caught behind off Jasprit Bumrah for 30. This time, India successfully used the DRS to overturn a ‘not out’ decision.

Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar shared similar views to Cullinan over the DRS controversy. Conceding that the visitors’ allegations were extremely serious in nature, he said:

“There was an insinuation from the Indian camp that the host broadcasters were up to some mischief to make sure they were putting their own team at an advantage. That is a serious kind of insinuation. I have a problem with that.”

While Elgar was dismissed off what ended up being the last ball of the day, Petersen returned unbeaten on a fluent 48.

“Virat Kohli is going through one of the most difficult phases of his career” - Sanjay Manjrekar

During the discussion, Manjrekar also pointed out that the Indian Test captain has been going through a pretty rough time both on and off the field lately. He elaborated:

“Virat Kohli is going through one of the most difficult phases of his career. He lost his ODI captaincy, there has been some controversy over that. This is the first time that I am seeing self-doubts have started creeping in. We saw it during the IPL as well. Never thought this guy would be under-confident.”

Meanwhile, South Africa ended Day 3 of the Cape Town Test at 101 for 2. They need a further 111 runs to win the Test and the series on Day 4.