For the best part of 2018, Australia have tried to steer clear of the ‘ugly Aussie’ persona. Sledging has been replaced by pre-series handshakes. India captain Virat Kohli stated he doesn’t want to get into verbal confrontations during their upcoming matches Down Under. Therefore, both teams will hold hands while walking out to the field during the upcoming series.
Ok, the last bit is a joke. But all this talk of avoiding verbal battles is no less funny because it goes against the very essence of India-Australia matches which have developed a nasty, and extremely entertaining edge.
Don’t get me wrong; no one wants to see an actual fight on the field nor do fans want to see their favourite cricketers cheating in pursuit of victory.
But more importantly, absolutely no one wants to see a potentially feisty encounter reduced to a bland exchange because of a couple of incidents that got caught on camera.
It started with David Warner’s fight with Quinton de Kock outside the dressing room in Durban during the calamitous Test series in South Africa at the beginning of the year. It was followed by the ‘sandpaper gate’ that started with suspensions for captain Steve Smith, Warner and Cameron Bancroft and ended up taking the entire top crop of Australian cricket administration in subsequent reviews. Australian cricket has been pushed to a corner where conduct on the field is being scrutinised as much – maybe more – than results on the field (which have been abysmal). It’s time to put an end to that episode because players have fought before and tampered with the ball; it’s not the end of the world even though Australian cricket seems to think so.
Kohli too is battling an image problem. This month, Kohli – while promoting his new app – reacted to a fan’s tweet by suggesting that Indian fans who don’t like Indian players and support those outside should leave the country. It was the last straw for many Indian fans and stakeholders who have been forced to put up with Kohli’s rambunctious demeanour which has rubbed many – even those in the team – the wrong way. His arrogance was too much to ignore this time and Kohli was forced to apologise for his statement.
🤣 I look forward to no Virat send offs 🤥
— Mitchell Johnson (@MitchJohnson398) November 15, 2018
According to a report which was later denied by the Indian board, Kohli was asked by administrators running the BCCI that his conduct reeked of arrogance when it came to interacting with media or the general public. He has apparently been asked to act with more humility, but an unsigned BCCI press release called the report baseless.
For the sake of cricket and fans in India and Australia, just let the players be. Every team has players who like confrontation and those who like to let the bat or ball do the talking. Kohli gets going when the pressure is on and the opposition is breathing down his neck. Surely there are Australian players – especially the fast bowlers – who would want to let Kohli know exactly what they think of him.
Remember, India-Australia cricket is the nastiest rivalry in the sport. During the Aussies’ previous tour of India in 2017, Smith was accused of deliberately seeking assistance from dressing room for a DRS review while Kohli said he no longer considers some Australian players as friends following one of the most spiteful Test series in recent memory.
A lot has been said by players on both sides. And even if some players are missing, both dressing rooms know what the other did last summer. If players are forced to act a certain way and suppress their natural behaviour, it will be a bigger travesty than if some words are exchanged in the middle.
So let the players play the way they know best to and not impose our ideas of how they should be. As long as it doesn’t get so ugly that it can’t be shown to kids, it is fine. It’s time to move on from what happened in South Africa and let two competitive teams have a go at each other with everything they have. Because that is what they are meant to do.
