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.
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