New Delhi: Former India opener Gautam Gambhir feels Virat Kohli’s reaction to the DRS decision during the third Test against South Africa was “immature” and that such an exaggerated response would never make the Indian captain a role model for the youth. Kohli, vice-captain KL Rahul and off-spinner R Ashwin made derogatory remarks at the stump mic regarding umpiring and technique following the DRS’ controversial decision not to give out leg before opponent captain Dean Elgar.
Gambhir told Star Sports, “It was very bad. The way Kohli reacted to the stump mic was immature. Such cannot be expected from an international captain, an Indian captain.” He said that in the first Test, Mayank Agarwal was also given life in this way but the South African captain did not react in such a way. He said, “Technology is not in your hands. In Mayank Agarwal’s case it looked like he was out but Elgar didn’t react that way.
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Gambhir said, “You may say that she is an emotional player but this kind of reaction is exaggerated. So you cannot be a role model. No budding cricketer would want to see this kind of reaction, especially from the Indian captain.” He said, “Whatever the outcome of this Test match, it is not expected from a Test captain who has been captaining the team for so long. Hopefully Rahul Dravid will talk to him because the kind of captain Dravid was, he would never react like that.”
Former South African batsman Daryl Cullinan also slammed Kohli, saying, “He has always been doing this. He behaves arbitrarily. The rest of the cricketing world bows before him. India is a superpower. This has been happening for years. No one can touch Indians, so everyone laughs off. He said, “I like Virat Kohli. He likes the game but there should be some limit to the conduct. He has been behaving in a way that is unacceptable on the cricket field for a long time. But he is Kohli and I don’t like it. He should be punished.” (agency)