Perth: Has India’s star batsman Virat Kohli unnecessarily raked up a huge controversy by having a spat with a journalist? Some fear that it could affect the concentration of the Indian team, who need to be more focused in the coming matches if they are to defend their title.
The editor of the Hindustan Times newspaper, whose reporter was wrongly abused, has written a complaint to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Though it was a case of mistaken identity, as Kohli actually wanted to target an Indian Express scribe, the incident has created an uncomfortable situation.
So the BCCI responded on Thursday, with new secretary Anurag Thakur releasing a statement saying the batsman had been reprimanded.
“The BCCI has been in touch with the Indian team management on this issue and has advised that this kind of incident should not be repeated,” the statement said.
“The BCCI respects the role played by the media in covering and popularising the game of cricket and acknowledges the support of the media in its mission to administer and promote the game of cricket in India.
“The player in question has been told to maintain the dignity of the Indian team at all times and avoid any such behaviour in future. The BCCI would like to request the concerned parties to move on and focus on the Indian cricket team’s campaign in the ongoing World Cup.”
Indian journalists wanted to take up the issue with team skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni at Thursday’s press pre-match conference ahead of Friday’s clash with the West Indies, but instead the team management picked spinner Ravichandran Ashwin to address the media.
Among the first questions he faced was about his personal opinion of the media in light of the Kohli incident. Ashwin said: “Media are here to support us. It’s very heartening to see the media turn up in such huge numbers and try to support us.
“But I mean, this is my take on it. I think the media has a responsible way of taking cricket back home in a responsible fashion, taking cricket to the public in the way it needs to be taken. There are times when I’m not happy with that, but that’s my opinion. But there are other times when you support the players and it’s very important to take the game forward.”
Just as Ashwin thought he had wriggled out of the situation, he was bluntly asked about the Kohli incident. “It’s definitely not in my jurisdiction. I’m very honest about it. I do not know what’s happened.”
West Indies captain Jason Holder was also asked about it. He tactfully got out of it by saying: “To be honest, you’ve just made me aware of it. I wasn’t really following or aware of any problems with India. Obviously, we just need to do what is required of us. We just need to execute our plans and be aggressive towards them [India].
