Bollywood star slams Kohli behaviour
ONE of the biggest stars in Bollywood has labelled Virat Kohli the “world’s worst behaved player” as broadcasters resolve to keep the stump mics cranked up and the spotlight hot this summer.
Indian management denied unrest in their camp after Ishant Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja were caught in an explosive slanging match on stump mic audio during the Perth Test.
Kohli is one of the most enthralling personality players in world sport and his every move out in the middle is being followed with interest by broadcasters Fox Cricket and Channel 7, who are making no apologies for their decision to give viewers a revolutionary pitch-side seat.
The Australian side were less than impressed at some of Kohli’s antics during the Test and the world’s best batsman has also come under fire from one of India’s highest-profile fans.
Bollywood film actor Naseeruddin Shah has started an internet storm in India by posting on Facebook a frank assessment of Kohli’s standing as a cricketer after his combative approach was beamed out frame by frame to the world in Perth.
“Virat Kohli is not only the world’s best batsman but also the world’s worst behaved player,” Shah wrote.
Footage of the teams shaking hands post-match shows Kohli refusing to make eye contact with counterpart Tim Paine.
Indian Test great Sunil Gavaskar says Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri should be held to account if India fails to win the series.
Channel 7 released a statement on behalf of the BCCI after the network broadcast footage of the Sharma and Jadeja spat.
“Indian team management have ... told 7 Cricket that the incident between Ishant Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja happened at the spur of the moment and management confirms that all is well between the two,” said the statement on 7’s twitter handle.