Kohli tells of ban shock

VIRAT Kohli has revealed he was shocked by the treatment of Australia’s ball-tampering trio and has pointedly maintained contact with David Warner during his year in exile.

In a wide-ranging interview with Adam Gilchrist to be screened during the weekend lunch breaks of the first Test against India on Fox Sports, India’s hot-blooded captain said he was chastened and saddened by the hostile reaction to Steve Smith, Warner and Cameron Bancroft after they were banned for ball tampering on the South African tour.

Kohli and Warner went at each other all summer last time the tourists visited here, but Kohli has revealed, despite the on-field friction which extended into Australia’s tour of India last year, they have become closer.

“What happened after [Cape Town] … I felt very bad,’’ Kohli said. “The things that happened afterwards should not have happened. The things that hit me the hardest was the way they were received at the airports and escorted out.

“It is not my place to comment on the decisions but to treat people like that for me it was unpleasant to see. I would never want to experience that as a cricketer.

“I have known David and Steve and apart from the battles you have on the field you never want to see something of that magnitude happen to two sportsmen. It was sad to see to be honest. As big a thing as it became you never want to see anyone go through that.

“After that event I have always been in touch with David. Me and him get along very well. He has been very kind to me.’’

Kohli has been regarded as a volatile, instinctive cricketer with an eye for trouble, but he feels he has matured and is not proud of his early behaviour.

“I am massively different from the first two tours [of Australia], especially the first when I was so bad,” he said. “I did not have a good understanding of where to draw the line. Those are things I would not say I regret but things I look at as mistakes but that were important for me to commit so I could learn from them.

“I was never a perfect or typical old-school cricketer. I just wanted to find my own way.

“My competitiveness comes from playing in Delhi in the junior levels. You had to outperform everyone else and make sure you were doing something special to come up the ranks.

“I just wanted to make a mark so badly because I loved the sport so much. I just kept pushing myself further.’’

In the Indian dressing room Kohli is regarded as a man who does not tolerate excuses and will admit to playing rubbish shots.

This accountability traces back to his late father Prem, a lawyer, who was not interested in short cuts.