The tiff between Virat Kohli and the Australians has taken some surprising turns and twists over the past month. The India-Australia rivalry has always grabbed headlines but with the introduction of social media into the equation, the reaction has been explosive. Here is about the Kohli-Aus spat.
In reply to the above tweet by Virat Kohli, Steven Smith has said that he is not sure if Kohli was hinting towards him. Now, this is where things have come to stand after what has been a brilliant series on-field and a psychological minefield off it. It all started when Steven Smith, during the 2nd test match of the series, looked towards the dressing room as if to await a signal for using the DRS review. Kohli pointed it out then and there. Later at a press conference, he said,
“There are lines you don’t cross on the cricket field. I won’t mention the word but it falls into that bracket. I would never do something like that on the field.”
This led to a speculation if the ‘word’ was cheating. And Smith responded:
“It was a bit of a brain fade and I shouldn’t have done that.As far as I’m concerned the game was played in good spirits and nobody crossed the line.”
Things had already taken a bitter turn but both teams put that into the past before the third test play. However the Twitterati was not done yet.
They refused to let Smith’s comment fade into oblivion. All this, while Cricket Australia strictly defended its player and denied any allegations.
The Australian media added fuel to the fire when they launched a tirade against Virat Kohli ending up comparing him to Donald Trump to which a devout Indian fan tweeted:
Virat Kohli’s injury subdued the raging war for a while but it again gained impetus when Brad Hodge accused Kohli of using his injury as an excuse to rest before the upcoming IPL. This did not go down well with the Indians, and Hodge finally apologised.
Smith was caught abusing Murali Vijay on camera which sparked off another debate if Smith was letting go of his control over emotions.
Under Rahane’s captaincy India won the 4-match test series, which was a well-deserved victory if there ever was one. In the press conference, Steven Smith apologised saying-
“I have been pretty intense throughout this series. I really wanted to do well for the team. At times I have been in my own bubble and have let my emotions slip. I apologise for that.”
He received applause from both camps for this show of humility.
Virat Kohli, however, made it clear in his response that an apology would not be enough to mend the breakage their relationship had gone through. He would not call Australians his ‘friends’ again. This was criticised by many for being overly aggressive. While some just lamented the dent this feud had left in the sportsmanship of cricket.
Two other Australian cricketers have also made news post this series.
Ed Cowan has revealed how Virat Kohli’s abuse, had made him want to physically hurt Virat once.
“I had a very sick Mum during one of those series and he said something that was inappropriate.”
Mitchell Starc, on the other hand, due to a folly of his own, made his message to Kohli public.
This shows that there is yet hope to retain cordiality between the two countries and hopefully IPL will help break down these newly resurrected walls.