Legendary Indian batsman Sunil Gavaskar has said that the incident involving Virat Kohli who vented his anger at the stump mic was an avoidable one. He said that heated moments in sports games are not uncommon but asked: “How would we Indians feel if an overseas team captain did this went to the stump mic and say something to the television channel covering the series.”
“…when you go towards a stump mic … it doesn’t look good (as the stump mic picks up all the chat) so that was something that was avoidable…it doesn’t look good”, Gavaskar told Spots Today.
On day 3 of the third test match between South Africa and India, Captain Kohli lost his cool after a decision declaring Dean Elgar LBW out was reversed by the DRS. “Focus on your team while they shine the ball. Not just the opposition. Trying to catch people all the time,” an irked Kohli was heard saying at the mic in a veiled reference to the major role which the broadcasters (Super Sports) played in the unravelling of the sandpaper-gate scandal back in 2018. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has let Virat go with a strict warning.
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The incident caused a major uproar among the international cricket community. Former England captain Michael Vaughan asked the ICC to impose a penalty on the Indian captain to ensure such acts are not repeated. Former South African batter Daryll Cullinan was also furious with the incident and asked the ICC to take strict action against the Indian captain. Indian started the three-match series with a win in the first Test at Centurion but went on to lose the next two matches at Johannesburg and Cape Town respectively. After the series loss, Virat surprised everyone by stepping down as the Indian captain.
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