Sledging and giving it back to the opposition is fine, but has Virat Kohli crossed the line?

“It’s funny all our guys ask about the cricket and the first thing you ask is controversial, but it’s okay.”

With that line, Virat Kohli, speaking in the post-match press conference in Ranchi, continued his brazen attack on Australia in this series. The India captain was responding to a question from an Australian journalist about an allegation he had made against his counterpart, Steve Smith. He did go on to answer the question, but not before making it clear that the India versus Australia battle was not restricted to the cricket field. Throughout this series, Kohli has hardly missed an opportunity to voice his feelings about Australia, whether it is the cricketers or the media.

It began in Bengaluru, when Kohli accused the Australian cricketers of looking up to their dressing room to check whether they should use the Decision Review System on two occasions apart from the one when his counterpart Steve Smith was caught doing it. Smith apologised for his actions, calling it a “brain fade”, but Kohli said in his press conference that he saw it happen “two times [more] when I was batting out there”, before just stopping short of calling the Australians cheats.

The International Cricket Council decided to not take any action after reviewing video footage, which would suggest that there were no other instances when Australia tried to use unfair means to decide to review an on-field umpiring decision. Kohli also did not specify the two instances, even as the two country’s cricket boards decided to bury the hatchet and move on.

Over to Ranchi, and when Kohli was asked by an Australian reporter whether he regretted making the allegations, the Indian skipper said, “I think about what I say. I don’t regret anything that I’ve said. But at the same time it’s important not to be stupid and not go on with the same thing on a daily basis because there is cricket to be played.”

Except, that’s exactly what he did in the Ranchi Test.

Kohli was hardly on the field for the first two days after injuring his shoulder while fielding, and his innings lasted 23 balls on the third day. When he took the field during the second innings, he appeared to send at least three Australian batsmen off by clutching his injured shoulder, in what seemed to be a response to Glenn Maxwell mocking his injury by doing the same while fielding. Kohli was later seen having a chat with Maxwell as well when the Australian came to bat.

Kohli would later reveal to the press that four or five Australian players had said something about the Indian team’s physiotherapist, Patrick Farhat. “I don’t know why [they took Farhat’s name]. His job is to treat me. I did not find the reason behind it. I could not understand. You must ask him [Steve Smith] why they started taking his name.” Kohli did not specify who these four or five players were or what they said.

Never a dull moment

Dull moments are few and far between whenever India play Australia in this age of Kohli. From flipping the bird to the crowd, to having a go at chirping bowlers and fielders while batting, to giving several juicy quotes to journalists during press conferences, Kohli has made it clear on numerous occasions that he and his team will not sit quietly to be bullied by the once world-beaters and serial sledgers.

Kohli has always been on the aggressive side, but he seems to pump up the belligerence whenever he plays Australia. However, he might be taking it a bit too far with unnecessary send-offs and comments made to the media. A bit of banter on the field, trying to get into the opposition’s head and all that is fine, but Kohli has perhaps overdone it in this series, especially considering he is now the captain.

Pushing your players to achieve their best on the field is one thing – Kohli did that brilliantly in Bengaluru when India had to restrict the Australian first-innings total after being bowled out for 189. For Indian fans, it was a joy to watch everyone in the team all pumped up and charging in on the Australians, led by the captain. The problem with Kohli is that he doesn’t leave matters on the field.

During his first tour of Australia in 2011-’12, he took to Twitter to vent his anger concerning some of the Australian spectators at the Sydney Cricket Ground, who he claimed had abused his mother and his sister. He was fined 50% of his match fee for showing his middle finger to the crowd. During his next tour, in 2014-’15, he told to the press that the Australians “were calling me a spoilt brat”. He added that he liked playing against Australia “because it is very hard for them to stay calm, and I don’t mind an argument on the field, and it really excites me and brings the best out of me. So they don’t seem to be learning the lesson”.

What’s to gain?

Giving the Australians a taste of their own medicine is one thing, but what’s to gain by making allegations, veiled or otherwise, in the press when you’ve got no way to prove them? Yes, it makes for great television and newspaper columns, but what are you achieving, really, apart from perhaps the backing of your country’s media and fans? No matter how convinced Kohli is that Australia cheated, or disrespected a member of his team’s support staff, or mocked his injury, he ought to have spoken about it to one person alone, if anyone, and that is the match referee.

If we have learnt anything from Kohli’s actions in this series, it is that aggression does not look so good when you’re not performing well. Prior to this Australia series, Kohli has let his bat do the talking as India notched up win after win. But the Australians seem to have caught India napping. The 333-run defeat in Pune was a wake-up call.

Kohli perhaps felt the need to resort to other tactics to put Australia off, which is why we saw a completely different India from the second day of the Bengaluru Test. He perhaps felt that over-the-top sledging and washing dirty linen in the media was necessary, to compensate for his own poor form, which has yielded 46 runs in five innings this series. He perhaps felt the need to become the pantomime villain of the series, if it means getting his team over the line. Kohli’s run drought must be hurting him, but at this point, his team winning is obviously more important, even if it means he is vilified in the press.

“It doesn’t matter to me,” he had said before the Ranchi Test. “I don’t start a series saying focus on me, speak about me, write about me. It’s not in my control. What’s in my control is what happens on the field. If people choose to write about me or speak about me, that’s their choice.”

That’s all fine, Virat, but if you think the media will not write about you when you yourself provide fodder to it at press conferences, you’re not fooling anyone. If this is indeed the classic Jose Mourinho tactic of deflecting attention, it seems to be working. The Daily Telegraph, an Australian newspaper that has made several baseless allegations in this series, such as this one, recently published an article that said, “Virat Kohli has become the Donald Trump of world sport. The Indian captain is a law unto himself with no one – not even the ICC or his own board – holding him accountable for his continual perpetuation of fake news.”

Well played, Jose...err...Virat.