Virat Kohli's footballer tendencies

Let’s make one thing clear, we believe that Virat Kohli is an immensely talented batsman here at The Reverse Sweep.

In our view Kohli is at the head of a new generation of Indian batsmen including Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane that promises the handover of power from the old guard of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman may be much smoother than once feared.

Neverthless, Kohli’s reaction to his dismissal in the third ODI against West Indies in Ahmedabad yesterday was unacceptable. Standing his ground and glaring at the umpire was bad enough, but his mouthing of obscenities and general childish demeanour was more befitting of the type of behaviour seen at Premier League football grounds.

As someone who has grown up with the filthy lucre of the IPL and in the full glare of a cricket obsessed country and media, Kohli lives the luxurious and closeted existence enjoyed by the likes of Wayne Rooney and John Terry.

And just as the behaviour of the England rugby squad has plunged the depths as the rewards and endorsements have gone in the other direction – mirroring their football counterparts, so is the danger for the cricketers of the IPL generation.

Kohli has said on many occasions how his game has benefitted from watching Tendulkar at close quarters and listening to his wise counsel, so he would do well to also heed the example the Little Master sets in terms of his modesty off the pitch and respect for the rich traditions of cricket.

Where next?

Virat Kohli - The (Little) Master's Apprentice

Rohit Sharma: The Artist formerly known as Nohit

Cricket's warning from football

Who are cricket's likely future greats?

Check out all our Reverse Sweep cricket heroes and zeroes 

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Comments

[wilo]

yes, this is a worrying if not unexpected development -- i hope that the authorities will stamp on this and not permit the slippery slope to the kind of behaviour seen in other sports that you've mentioned. i would prefer to see the rights of players to challenge the umpire's decisions under the UDRS repealed too, for much the same reasons. i just have a disconcerting feeling that someone, somewhere, is looking at this and thinking, "yeah, but it's good for ratings..."