Cricket is a temperamental sport. It is important for players and more importantly, talismanic ones to hold their composure in the toughest of situations. This is what separates the best from the rest.
Incidentally, RCB superstar Virat Kohli has now made headlines with his overtly aggressive acts in the match between Lucknow and RCB last night.
There are many viral videos on social media, where Kohli is allegedly seen comparing his opposite team player Naveen Ul Haq to his shoe dust. He is also seen having a verbal altercation with Lucknow team coach and former team India cricketer Gautam Gambir.
It all started in the first fixture between the two teams in Bangalore last month where Gambhir and co aggressively celebrated their win over RCB. Kohli’s aggression last night is termed as a return gift for the same.
But these aren’t the things you’d ever see associated with other Indian talismanic players and captains MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma.
Dhoni is arguably the best of the lot with composed and respectable attitude. In his elaborate career, there aren’t many times the CSK and India legend crossed the limit. This made him one of the most loved and adored superstars in world cricket.
Rohit, the current captain of India, too bursts out on his players once in a while. There was an incident in an India game when Bhuvaneshwar Kumar dropped a catch and Rohit kicked the ball away. This is a rare occasion of Rohit losing his cool. Everyone who’s played with him and against him only have good things to say about him.
Seniors like Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh, and Irfan Pathan, have all said Rohit pays great respect to seniors and compatriots. They certify him as a guy who is perfectly suited for the captaincy role.
But in the case of Kohli, one gets an impression, he is far too abusive. His overtly aggressive acts often invited repercussions. Last night, he certainly crossed the limit. There’s aggression and then there’s abusive behavior. The difference is a fine line but it can’t be crossed.
Also, there are several instances where Kohli had a fallout with seniors like Anil Kumble, Saurav Ganguly, Gambhir, and others. This isn’t ideal.
There’s no doubting that Kohli is one of the greatest ever to set foot in a cricket field and certainly the greatest of this generation, but the attitude, like was seen yesterday can get into nerves sometimes. Showing shoe dust to a player, showing disrespectful hand gestures to seniors like Gambhir don’t paint the best image of Kohli.
In this regard, Dhoni and Rohit will always remain to be far superior.
