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It has been a couple of weeks since the Indian cricket team lost to New Zealand in their second match of the T20 World Cup and Virat Kohli had refused to make an appearance in front of the media following the defeat. Instead, the former Indian skipper in the T20I format had sent his key bowler Jasprit Bumrah to face the heat and was heavily criticised for not being present at the venue to answer the burning questions. Virat Kohli sending Bumrah for press conference #INDvsNZ pic.twitter.com/a32cexA4rN — Dilse FAN (@dilsefan1) November 1, 2021 A lot has happened since then. Kohli has resigned from his captaincy and has been rested by the selectors. Rohit Sharma has taken over as the new full-time skipper, and the Men in Blue have gained an unassailable 2-0 lead against the Black Caps in the ongoing T20I bilateral series in India. However, it remains a fact that Kohli has managed to garner some extreme haters during his time at the top and they seem to keep coming back with more criticism and taunts for the batter, even when he is out of action and trying to manage his workload. View this post on Instagram In one such incident lately, Kohli’s absence from the press conference was compared to the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s virtual address to the country in which he withdrew the three farm laws and asked the protesting farmers to go home. PM Modi’s video was considered to be brave and courageous while depicting a strong sense of character on his part as opposed to Kohli, who was criticised for making someone else fall on the sword for his mistakes after the T20 World Cup upset. The only problem was that the Author and Speaker, Shefali Vaidya, who called out Kohli for his lack of courage, had no idea about which conference he had attended and which he did not. What strength of character must it take to say this? He could have chosen to issue a press release. He could have chosen to let the agriculture minister announce this, like @imVkohli sent Bumrah to face the press after the Pak debacle. But he did NOT! pic.twitter.com/1IttCnZpWF — Shefali Vaidya. (@ShefVaidya) November 19, 2021 It didn’t take long for Kohli’s supporters to assemble and call “BS” on the comparison. They also made the world realise that the cricketer was present there for the Press Conference after losing to Pakistan, which had a lot more gravitas to it as compared to the loss to New Zealand. A. Virat Kohli himself attended the PC after Pakistan game. B. Had he not attended it also, it wouldn't had mean that he sent someone else to throw them under the bus and avoid criticism. He's pretty much a player's captain. C. There wasn't even any need to bring Virat here. — Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) November 19, 2021What the hell. Virat Kohli went to press conference after that Pakistan game and it was one of the best press of Virat in his career . Who are these people. — Kaushik (@_CricKaushik_) November 19, 2021Ye har topic ghum-fir ke Kohli pe kaise chala jata hai? You need to know that Virat went for the PC himself. — Aditya Saha (@Adityakrsaha) November 19, 2021Meanwhile Virat Kohli in that press conference which she mentioned pic.twitter.com/7ernGS7xU2 — Kaushik (@_CricKaushik_) November 19, 2021After being in the bio bubble for the England series, followed by the IPL and then T20 World Cup tournament, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) allowed senior players of the team including Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja some time off the field and, rested them for the T20Is and the upcoming Test series against New Zealand. View the full article -
Former Pakistan captain, Shahid Afridi, recently spoke about Virat Kohli’s future with the Indian cricket team now that he has stepped down as the captain of the T20I squad and there are speculations of him giving up the leadership in other formats as well. Speaking on Samaa TV, Afridi addressed the former Indian T20I skipper’s reasoning for giving up the captaincy and went on to share his thoughts on what Kohli should do next. View this post on Instagram "I think Virat should take the decision to continue as only a player. There will be relatively less pressure, he has played plenty of cricket too. He will enjoy his cricket and batting because captaining a team is not easy, especially in countries like India and Pakistan. As long as you are captaining well, things go smooth", he stated during the conversation, suggesting that Kohli should resign from the captaincy spot across all formats of the game and simply focus on being the elite-level batter that he already is. View this post on Instagram Afridi also went on to side with the Indian cricket board’s decision to crown Rohit Sharma as the next captain of the Men in Blue and spoke about the experience he has had with the ‘Hitman’ when the two were teammates for a year while playing in the Indian Premier League for Deccan Chargers. View this post on Instagram "As far as Rohit is concerned, this was on the cards. I have played with him for a year (at Deccan Chargers). He is an outstanding player with terrific shot selection. He stays relaxed where required and shows aggression when needed to as well. We will see both sides." "Like I said, this captaincy move was bound to happen. He should definitely be given a chance", he further added. View this post on Instagram There have been rumours within the BCCI that Kohli has already started thinking about ridding himself of the responsibilities as the captain in all formats and that it will take place gradually but surely. This would in turn mean that Sharma might be trusted with the ODI captaincy as well. At the moment, it has been confirmed that Kohli will be rested during the T20Is and Test matches that India will be playing against the touring New Zealand side in the second half of November. View the full article
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The former head coach of the Indian cricket team Ravi Shastri and the ex-Indian captain of the T20I squad Virat Kohli was one of a kind duo that went on to achieve a lot of brilliant victories and successes throughout their respective tenures. However, both of their roles came to an end after the Men in Blue were knocked out of the Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup 2021 and had to return home earlier than everyone had imagined simply because they were favourites to win it all. View this post on Instagram Nonetheless, the end of Ravi Shastri’s time as the head coach has now enabled him to talk a lot freely about the happenings inside the Indian dressing room, share his opinions about the team that he coached and even talk about what Kohli may have in store for his career as a cricketer. Talking to India Today, Shastri spoke about the possibility of Kohli giving up captaincy across all formats of the game in order to get some headspace, reduce his workload and focus on becoming the world’s greatest batter of the modern era. View this post on Instagram "In red ball cricket, India have been number one for the last five years under his captaincy. Unless, he wants to give it up or he is mentally fatigued where he says he wants to focus on his batting which can happen in the near future." "It won't happen immediately but it can happen. The same might happen with white ball cricket, he might say he had enough and he focuses on Test captaincy. It is his mind and body that will make that decision. He won't be the first." View this post on Instagram "A lot of successful players have given up captaincy to focus on their batting for their side." Shastri said Kohli remains the fittest cricketer in the team by far. "He is hungry for sure, fitter than anybody in the team. No doubt about that. When you are physically that fit, your longevity only increases. On the captaincy part of it, it will be his decision but I see if anything he might say no to white ball cricket but red ball, he should carry on because he has been the best ambassador for the Test cricket. That will make him carry on," said Shastri. View the full article
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On Wednesday, the Mumbai Police finally tracked down the Twitter user who had given rape threats to Indian cricketer Virat Kohli’s daughter after he had shown support for Mohammed Shami and stood up for him against the religious abuse following India’s match against Pakistan. According to the details of the case revealed to the media, the man arrested in this case is named Ramnagesh Srinivas Akubathini, a 23-year IIT Graduate in B-Tech from Hyderabad who works in the software department of a food delivery company. The guy who gave rape threats is arrested from Hyderabad. Ramnagesh Srinivas Akubathini. https://t.co/kPUoBBkkmG — Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) November 10, 2021 Upon making the arrest, Akubathini is being brought to Mumbai where his judicial trial will take place and a decision on his police custody will also be heard. The accused was put on a manhunt after he publicly threatened to rape the Indian skipper’s minor daughter on the micro-blogging website and had quickly deactivated his account after facing severe backlash on the internet. At the moment, many were quick to call Akubathini’s Twitter handle - Amena (@criccrazyygirl), a bot account which was originated in Pakistan. It was considered a ploy by the people across the border to spread violence and hate in India. Once again it’s a Pakistani bot…. https://t.co/a3iickCCcT pic.twitter.com/SMrpxTx5KP — Mr Sinha (@MrSinha_) October 31, 2021 However, an in-depth investigation of the Twitter account in the discussion by The News Minute revealed that it had originated from within India, and based on the previously shared tweets and retweets by the owner of the account, it was estimated that the man was indeed an Indian. Check out the complete breakdown of their investigative process. Earlier this month, the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) had sent a notice to the Delhi Police seeking a response over rape threats made to Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma's daughter on social media. "This is the time to stand behind our team, not against them. Even if India lost to Pakistan, the players and their families don't deserve hatred," DCW chief Swati Maliwal wrote to the Delhi Police. Her letter went on to add, "I expect immediate registration of an FIR and arrests in the matter. Such people should be taught a lesson." The Indian public praised the Mumbai Police for finding this man out an wish to see strict action being taken against him. Ppl giving Rape threats are actually metally ill... Police did a gr8 job catching them, metal hospital gr8 place for them.... — Nitinn Bhansal (@nrb678) November 10, 2021Ramnagesh Srinivas Akubathini. Make this guy notorious and publish this news alll over the media and let everyone know even if he dreams of doing such thing - his life will be ruined in India — Prashanth (@Prashiee) November 10, 2021Definitely such maniacs are threat for any civilized society — DrSahaiSanjeev (@DrSahaiSanjeev1) November 10, 2021A potential rapist, a hate-monger and an IIT graduate Ramnagesh Srinivas Akubathini has been arrested for giving rape threats to the infant daughter of the Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli. He did it because Kohli spoke against islamophobic trolling of Mohammed Shami. — Zoya Rasul (@zoyarasul) November 10, 2021 View the full article
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With the end of the T29 World Cup 2021 nearing for the Indian cricket team, Virat Kohli’s time as the captain of the squad is also coming to an end. Back in September, the elite cricketer had announced his resignation from the position as soon as the tournament would end, with the hopes of reducing his workload and focusing on retaining his position as the world’s greatest batter. And while the entire nation is behind Kohli’s decision to do what he feels is right for him, his career and his work-life balance, another debate has emerged as a byproduct of this whole event. View this post on Instagram The issue of Virat Kohli’s replacement as the captain of the Men in Blue in the shortest format of the game has been buzzing all across the various social media platforms. There have been obvious names such as the vice-captain Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul who have been leading these debates. While Rishabh Pant’s name has also been sprinkled here and there. However, former Indian pacer Ashish Nehra has nominated yet another name to be thrown into this mix and it is a tricky one. Nehra feels that the next captain of the squad, at least in the shortest format of the game, should be the yorker specialist Jasprit Bumrah. View this post on Instagram In his opinion, there were two major reasons why Bumrah should be picked as the next skipper over all of his teammates: first, because he is a member of the Playing XI across all formats of the game, and second, because he has all the qualities of being a good leader. "Apart from Rohit Sharma, we are hearing the names of Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul. Pant has travelled around the world, carried drinks, and was even dropped from the team a few times. Rahul was recalled to the Test side after Mayank Agarwal got injured. As Ajay (Jadeja) said, he (Bumrah) understands the game quite well. He is also in the playing XI in all formats. It's nowhere written in the rule book that pacers can't be captains," Nehra said in a conversation with CricBuzz. View this post on Instagram However, in the past, BCCI officials have addressed this issue and have given an answer a lot less controversial than Bumrah and have picked Rohit Sharma as Kohli’s successor as the next skipper. According to reports, the Indian cricket board is expected to declare the next T20I captain next week, as the Men in Blue will brace themselves for a bilateral series against New Zealand at home in the second half of November. View the full article
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A couple of weeks ago, Indian cricketer, Mohammed Shami was abused on the basis of his religion on social media after being the one to give away the winning runs to Pakistan in their first-ever World Cup win over India. Many blamed ‘Pakistani bot accounts’ for the message and the attempt to spread communal hate within India. Some even went on to slam the Indian cricket board, BCCI, for sharing a post in favour of the India-Muslim pacer just a day after the loss to the arch-rivals. Proud Strong Upward and onward pic.twitter.com/5NqknojVZj — BCCI (@BCCI) October 26, 2021 But limits were crossed when a Twitter user decided to give rape threats to the Indian skipper Virat Kohli’s 10-month old daughter Vamika after he decided to speak in favour of his teammate and called the social media haters a bunch of “spineless people”. Once again it’s a Pakistani bot…. https://t.co/a3iickCCcT pic.twitter.com/SMrpxTx5KP — Mr Sinha (@MrSinha_) October 31, 2021 And once again, this Twitter user Amena (@criccrazyygirl), was presumed to be a Pakistani bot trying to spread hate in India, before the tweet was deleted, and the account was suspended. However, new reports have suggested that the location from where the account was created has finally been disclosed and that it was not Pakistan, but within India, that origin of this tweet was traced back to. According to The News Minute, the unique Twitter ID number for this account, which remains the same regardless of how many times the user changed its username, is “1386685474182369290”. The publication investigated some of the previous tweets and retweets shared by this account and some of the other accounts it was redirecting towards and concluded that all the activities suggested that it was created within India. Check out the complete breakdown of their investigative process. Twitter user Mohammed Zubair, who is also the co-founder of Alt News, also shared a Twitter thread explaining how he reached the assessment that the creator of the Twitter account Amena (@criccrazyygirl) was not created anywhere else in the world but in Hyderabad itself. Lol nice try to distance yourself. The account @Criccrazyygirl is not from Pakistan but a Right Wing troll from Hyderabad. His earlier accounts were : @Criccrazyygirl, @ramanheist & @pellikuturuhere. Here, unique 'data-user-id' (1386685474182369290) is same for all 3 accounts. https://t.co/qIVkcJRN6t pic.twitter.com/AmRlL9J7jb — Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) October 31, 2021 Virat Kohli is yet to make an appearance in front of the media ever since his post-match comments about the lack of intent and courage with which India had faced New Zealand in their most recent loss at the T20 World Cup. He had also skipped the post-match conference and had sent Jasprit Bumrah to face the heat, which didn’t help his case as the leader of the Indian cricket team either. View the full article
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For an Indian cricket fan, the last couple of weeks have been nightmarish. The team has lost its opening two matches against Pakistan and New Zealand and is on the verge of an early exit from the ongoing T20 World Cup. New Zealand win the game, but #TeamIndia will look to make amends in their next match of the #T20WorldCup. #INDvNZ Scorecard https://t.co/ZXELFVZhDp pic.twitter.com/Bvkz3BHshm — BCCI (@BCCI) October 31, 2021 No matter how hard we try to defend our players, the truth is that our players have no one else but themselves to blame for their predicament, where they are at the mercy of other teams to stand even an outside chance of making it to the next stage of the competition. And given how highly things are stacked against the Men In Blue, it will be nothing short of a miracle if they qualify. © Twitter BCCI It’s hard to believe that these are the same players who were being hailed as one of the favourites to win the tournament and here they were virtually knocked out of the tournament after just two matches. Heading into any major event, the expectations are always high from the Indian team because they always impress in the bi-lateral series but when it comes to the major ICC events, for some reason, they fail to deliver the goods. © Twitter BCCI India not just lost the match but they suffered two of their worst defeats in the tournament’s history. Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir, who top-scored for India in the two World Cup finals, feels that the Indian players don’t lack skills but it’s the “mental toughness” that is holding them back. “This game was literally like a quarterfinal. The problem is with the mental toughness of the side. Suddenly when you know you have got to win the game and can’t make mistakes, in bilaterals it’s different because you can make mistakes there. But in these kind of games, I don’t think India has got that mental strength,” Gambhir said on ESPNCricinfo post-match show. “They have got the skill and are a very dangerous side. But unfortunately, we can keep talking about it that we need to stand by our team when its not doing well but it’s been a trend and its been happening for a very long time in most of these ICC tournaments, whether it’s the semifinals or the game today as well. When it mattered the most for someone to put his hand up, they just couldn’t,” said the former southpaw. © Twitter ICC More than the defeat, watching the Indian team surrender in front of oppositions has been more demoralising. If they had shown some teeth and challenged the opposition and then went down fighting the defeat wouldn’t have caused this much pain. India last won an ICC trophy back in 2013 when MS Dhon guided them to the Champions Trophy title. SInce then, it’s been more than eight years but Team India has kept the fans waiting and with each passing year, the patience is starting to run its course. View the full article
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India’s famed batting line-up, comprising three of the most celebrated T20 batters in the world in KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, failed miserably for the second game running as India lost to New Zealand by eight wickets in their second group match of the ongoing T20 World Cup Dubai. While Indian batters looked clueless while batting, the Kiwis came into the match with a set game plan which they executed to perfection. Their bowlers had done their homework and that is the reason why they were able to dictate terms out in the middle in such a crucial encounter. © Twitter/ICC The NZ bowlers knew that Indian skipper Virat Kohli, who scored a fifty in the previous match against Pakistan, could pose a serious threat to their chances of winning the match. Unlike traditional T20 hitters, Kohli likes to take his time in the middle upfront and then unleashes himself towards the end of the innings. The Black Caps were aware of the impact he could have on the match, hence they never allowed him to get settled. He walked in to bat in the last over of the powerplay and faced a grand total of 17 deliveries scoring nine runs, before gifting away his wicket while playing a slog-sweep against the turn. © Reuters Normally we don't see Kohli playing such a reckless shot early on in his innings but the NZ spinners played with his ego and forced him to take aerial route. The 32-year-old skipper took the bait and paid the price for not keeping his ego under check. Speaking on Star Sports, veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh explained how the Kiwis played with Kohl’s mind and how his ego contributed to his downfall in a crucial encounter. © BCCI According to Bhajji, the New Zealand spinners knew that Kohli doesn’t like playing lucrative shots early on and instead relies on taking quick singles to build his innings. The Kiwis deprived the Indian talisman of this very crucial part of his game plan and challenged him to go after the bowlers and play big shots. “They played with Virat Kohli's ego. They said that they will not give him the runs, if you come at the start and play the big shot, it's fine but they will not give the singles. When you hurt a big player's ego by not giving the singles, they play a shot like Virat Kohli played today,” said Harbhajan Singh while speaking on Star Sports. “Virat Kohli's shot is not his natural game. He tried what he doesn't do. If he had hit the same ball over cover or played after stepping out, I feel that would have been a better option,” he explained. During his 17-ball stay, Kohli couldn’t hit a single boundary and finally when he tried, he ended up throwing away his wicket. While he was at the crease, there was still some hope of reaching a fighting total but as soon as he got out, most people knew it was going to be a long night. What was surprising was that a player of Kohli’s stature fell prey to the opposition’s game plan and played into their hands -- all because of his ego. It's also true that he wasn't the only player to fail in the match, other batters also flopped in that match but nobody is targeting them. And It's sad. View the full article
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Same venue, different opposition but same result. After Team India suffered a humiliating defeat against Pakistan in their opening match, most fans and experts expected them to bounce back strongly but they went further down the hill against New Zealand. This match was a wonderful opportunity for Virat Kohli and his men to prove their critics wrong. To be fair, they succeeded in doing that as, despite losing against Pakistan, most pundits had predicted that India would put their campaign back on track against the Kiwis. New Zealand win the game, but #TeamIndia will look to make amends in their next match of the #T20WorldCup. #INDvNZ Scorecard https://t.co/ZXELFVZhDp pic.twitter.com/Bvkz3BHshm — BCCI (@BCCI) October 31, 2021 So, with Sunday’s performance the Men In Blue, in a way, did prove all of them wrong by virtually shutting the semi-finals doors, hence proving their critics wrong. India’s poor batting performance against Pakistan was a result of their top-quality bowling but against the Black Caps, it was their poor shots selections that led to their downfall. Reflecting on what went wrong after the match, skipper Kohli admitted that the players “weren’t brave enough” with the bat or ball. He even questioned the team's “body language” despite fully knowing that a defeat here could quash their hopes of making it to the knock-out stage. © Twitter BCCI “To be brutal upfront, I don't think we were brave enough with bat/ball. We obviously didn't have much to play with the ball. We were just not brave enough in our body language when we entered the field and NZ had better intensity, body language. Every time we took a chance, we lost a wicket. It's most often a result of hesitation of whether you should go for a shot or not,” the Indian skipper said at the post-match presentation. The manner in which the Indian players surrendered in front of the Kiwis was hard to digest for any Indian cricket fan. At no point did the players look like they were playing to win the match and that left the fans infuriated. © Twitter BCCI Kohli’s assessment after the match worked as a fuel to the fire and the fans lambasted the Indian skipper for letting the team down both as a batter and as a leader. Countering his excuse, they asked why can’t Indian players show the same bravery which they do while playing for the franchises in the Indian Premier League or if their bravery is only reserved for their franchises which give them big paychecks. All the bravery with bat, ball & body language will be back the moment the next season of IPL begins! — Col Rana(R) (@Col__Rana) October 31, 2021एड्स करते वक्त और आईपीएल के वक्त ही ब्रेव रहते है, बाकी आईसीसी के टूर्नामेंट में सांप सूंघ जाता है।#INDvNZ — Vinay... only विनय (@kuch_theek_kare) October 31, 2021Pls say "40 mins of bad cricket cost us, but we are the best team in the world". Feels incomplete without these lines — Apoorv Srivastava (@apoorv3555) October 31, 2021Can't break to injury anything because IPL purchase is very near. No one in the team face had urge to win. — Shivaprasad m. s (@ojhasms) October 31, 2021Aur khelo IPL #BanIPL — ashwin_w (@Ashwin11W) October 31, 2021We were Only Brave while Showing Solidarity for an American Movement by Taking the knee. — TOO MUCH DEMOCRACY (@L0ST_IN_CINEMA) October 31, 2021Very very true! Dont know whats bothering the team so much, you guys are not even looking like playing to win. That hurts us the most nothing else captain. @imVkohli — Rajesh Roy (@rajeshroy1929) October 31, 2021Very very true! Dont know whats bothering the team so much, you guys are not even looking like playing to win. That hurts us the most nothing else captain. @imVkohli — Rajesh Roy (@rajeshroy1929) October 31, 2021As a leader of the group, wasn’t it Kohli’s responsibility to motivate the players to bring out their best in a crucial game which was virtually a quarter-final for the team. If playing for the Indian team doesn’t inspire them to put their best foot forward and play fearless cricket then don’t know what else will. View the full article
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Ever since India’s loss against Pakistan in their opening match of the T20 World Cup 2021, the cricketing world was left amazed by the kind of hate Mohammed Shami got for being the one to give away the winning runs to Babar Azam. The Indian pacer was attacked for his religion and was asked to “get out of the country” simply because he ended up being the most expensive bowler for the Men in Blue on that particular day. #Shami sala besram insan india match haar rhi thi aur ye mulla hnsta hnsta full toss short ball fank kr mc rha tha katwa — Beast Expert (@expert_beast) October 25, 2021It's True shami is getting heat like mulla, pakistan chala ja , sala apne bhai ko jitwa diya . — Sushant (@bsushant__) October 25, 2021Since then, Shami’s teammates, and other celebrities have come to his support and shamed those who were senselessly criticising and individually targeting the bowler instead of blaming the entire team for the loss. Indian skipper Virat Kohli addressed these “spineless people” who sit behind fake social media IDs while creating unnecessary controversy just for clout and said that the entire team was going to stand behind Shami if something like this happens again. "Attacking someone over their religion is the most pathetic thing one can do as a human. That is a very sacred and personal thing. People take out their frustration because they have no understanding of what we do," Kohli told the reporters in a pre-match conference on Saturday. Listening to his press conference and the sense of honesty in his voice about the brotherhood Kohli shares with Shami, former Indian skipper and cricketing legend Sunil Gavaskar opened up about how he felt towards the whole situation and how he loved Kohli’s unfiltered response to the discriminators. “Those who are making such remarks, do they matter? I don’t think these faceless trolls matter. We don’t care what they have to say, because they have no identity,” said Sunil Gavaskar on India Today. Proud Strong Upward and onward pic.twitter.com/5NqknojVZj — BCCI (@BCCI) October 26, 2021 “Good to see the way Virat Kohli and other team members have rallied behind Mohammad Shami. It is a great sign. Backing each other is the key. This is what we have seen over the last week,” he added. While the last week has been about Indian cricketers getting even closer to each other as teammates and compatriots, it is time for the team to dig deep into that chemistry and take on Kane Williamson and the New Zealand cricket team in what is virtually a must-win match for both sides if they wish to move to the knockout stage of the tournament. View the full article
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It has been exactly a week since the Indian cricket team lost their first match of the T20 World Cup 2021 against Pakistan at the Dubai International Stadium. It has also been a week since the time Mohammed Shami was called out on the basis of his religion after giving away the match-winning runs in his over. However, since then, a lot of public figures, celebrities, and even his very own teammates have raised their voices against all the online hate Shami has been receiving over the past 6-7 days. A day before India’s match against New Zealand, skipper Virat Kohli spoke candidly about those people who were coward enough to abuse his teammate while hiding behind fake accounts. "Attacking someone over their religion is the most pathetic thing one can do as a human. That is a very sacred and personal thing. People take out their frustration because they have no understanding of what we do," Kohli told the reporters in a pre-match conference on Saturday. "We're playing on the field, we're not a bunch of spineless people on social media. This has become a source of entertainment for some people which is very sad. All this drama created on the outside is based on people's frustrations," Kohli added. "We stand by by him 200 per cent. Our brotherhood in the team cannot be shaken." After such strong and supportive comments made by Kohli about his pacer, an old video of Shami being questioned about his loyalty towards the nation has been doing the rounds on the internet. Back in 2018, the cricketer was in the middle of an ugly separation from his now-estranged wife Hasin Jahan, who had said that Shami was part of a match-fixing incident and that she also had the proof about him taking money from a Pakistani girl to help pre-determine the result of a game. “If Md. Shami can cheat me then he can cheat the county as well. He accepted money from a Pakistani girl named Alisbah in Dubai. He agreed to accept it after the insistence of England-based Mohammed Bhai. I have proof,” Jahan had said. “I have also played with my heart, given more than 100% every time I walked on to the field. I have huge respect for security personnel guarding our border. I always think about their hardship. I would prefer to die rather before even thinking about something even remotely close to match-fixing,” Shami had gone on to address the issues about these allegations in yet another interview back then. View the full article
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The Indian cricket team, which many touted as favourites to win the tournament, suffered a major blow in their opening encounter, losing to their biggest rivals Pakistan for the first time in the history of the T20 World Cup. More than the defeat, it’s the manner in which the Virat Kohli-led side lost the match that has disappointed the fans the most. Pakistan’s terrific bowling meant that Team India couldn't post a challenging total on the board. © Twitter/BCCI Barring skipper Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant, who scored 57 and 39 respectively, no other batter could make any significant contribution in the match. If the batting performance was disappointing, India’s famed bowling attack didn’t do justice to its reputation either as they failed to pick up any wickets and India ended up suffering their first-ever 10-wicket loss in the shortest format. Tough day for #TeamIndia at the office, but we will bounce back in our next game.#T20WorldCup #INDvPAK pic.twitter.com/mYwYXVN6xc — BCCI (@BCCI) October 24, 2021 This defeat has led to several questions. Whether Kohli picked the right Playing XI for the blockbuster game or if he made a mistake by showing too much confidence in one-dimensional Hardik Pandya’s match-finishing skills. However, for former India player Ajay Jadeja both these things weren’t a big issue but it was something else that made him worried. More than their performance, it was players’ mentality, including that of skipper Kohli, which made the former all-rounder “disappointed”. © Twitter/BCCI “I heard Virat Kohli's statement that day. He said 'when we lost two wickets, we fell behind in the match against Pakistan'. I was disappointed with that,” Jadeja said on Cricbuzz Hindi Live. “When a player like Virat Kohli is out there in the middle, there is no way the match has ended. He had not played even two balls and was thinking like that. So, it shows India's approach,” he further added. View this post on Instagram No doubt, losing Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul, two in-form batters early, did peg India on the backfoot but there were still some quality batters left in the tank, including the skipper himself and him saying that the team fell behind in the match by losing a couple of wickets upfront indicated that he didn’t have much confidence in the other batters’ abilities. © Twitter/BCCI What it also does is that it gives the opposition an indication that by getting rid of India’s top-two or top-three batters cheaply, they can create a panic button in the Indian dressing room. With India losing their opening match and Pakistan winning both their matches against the two strongest sides in the group, Kohli and his men find themselves in a virtual do-or-die encounter against New Zealand on Sunday. © Twitter/BCCI There are many questions that need to be answered ahead of the next game but the most important change that they need to make is to bring in a winning mentality. View the full article
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The warm-up match between India and Australia turned out to be very eventful. First, it was Rohit Sharma who walked into the match as the captain instead of Virat Kohli, then it was confirmed that Kohli will be playing as a bowler and was at the very end of the Indian batting lineup. While we’ve discussed the future of the Indian cricket team in the T20I format under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma after the T20 World Cup 2021, let’s talk about Kohli and the two overs that he bowled against the Aussies. Yes. Think they have no options but to bank on Kohli to bowl two overs. On these slow conditions, large outfield, he can escape with two overs. But always going to be a huge risk. — Venkata Krishna B (@venkatatweets) October 20, 2021 In the 12 balls that Kohli delivered, he only gave away 12 runs and was one of the more efficient bowlers for the Men in Blue. However, there was a moment in the match, when Aussie hitter Steve Smith was on strike and Kohli’s bowling action completely threw him off. The Australian could be seen completely dazed by the fact that Kohli was getting some decent swing as he leaked a smile. He also couldn’t help but make fun of his Indian counterpart’s ‘unorthodox’ bowling action. pic.twitter.com/H7KrieRLdz — Ves (@Ves84442098) October 20, 2021 Unable to understand exactly how was it that Kohli was bowling, Smith kept trying to mimic his action with his right hand after multiple deliveries. The two legends of modern-day cricket, Kohli, and Smith are great friends and therefore the banter was taken lightly by both sides. The fans of the Indian cricket team also enjoyed the Indian skipper’s rare show, not as a batter but as a bowler and a tailender. Here’s how they reacted: Kohli bowling to Smith The contest everyone was waiting for since time immemorial#INDvAUS — Sunil Singh (@Sunil_1984_) October 20, 2021Kohli bowling to smith... probably the best moment in this world cup — Muskan Aggarwal (@muskan401) October 20, 2021Right arm 'Quick' bowler Kohli Bowling to Smith — Vijay DILeep ツ (@VijayDILeep04) October 20, 2021Kohli and Rohit are actually decent bowlers tho..it's just they didn't practice for ages...Rohit started his career as an all rounder, similar to Smith...Kohli also took some wickets in T20Is..both should try bowling and if it fails then should think of Hardik's spot for sure — Shantanu (@imshantanu105) October 20, 2021Kohli bowling his medium pacers to Steve Smith and Maxwell in a floppy hat. Does #cricket get any better? I doubt...#ViratKohli #SteveSmith #GlennMaxwell #T20WorldCup — Abhimanyu Mathur (@MadCrazyHatter_) October 20, 2021Having said that, the time for jokes and fun is not over as India have played both their warm-up matches, and with the kind of hard-hitting they did against England and Australia, respectively, it seems as if the Men in Blue are prepared for the T20 World Cup 2021. Their first challenge of the tournament will be in the form of the Pakistani squad whom they will play on October 24, 2021 (Sunday) at the Dubai International Cricket Ground. The last time the two sides played was back in 2019 during the World Cup in England. India remains undefeated against Pakistan in T20I and ODI World Cup ever since the inception of international cricket. View the full article
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Sunil Gavaskar is a man of many words and is unafraid to use them whenever he feels like calling out another player for a mistake he may have committed or for any other reason which may have upset him in some way. However, after Virat Kohli’s loss in the final match as the captain of the Royal Challengers Bangalore against Kolkata Knight Riders, Gavaskar had nothing but pure empathy and affection for him. View this post on Instagram After trying to cheer Kohli up by comparing him to Don Brandman’s disappointing final innings and Sachin Tendulkar’s retirement game, now the former Indian skipper has gone completely Bollywood in driving the narrative around Virat Kohli’s farewell as the T20 captain of the Indian cricket team. "That will be fantastic (winning the T20 World Cup 2021). Because that will probably be the best ending he can have as captain (T20s). Playing for a franchise is one thing but playing for a country is entirely different. So winning a tournament for the country would be fantastic," Gavaskar said while speaking on Star Sports, IPL's official broadcaster. View this post on Instagram Last month, Virat Kohli had announced that he will be stepping down as the leader of the Men in Blue in the shortest format of the game after the T20 World Cup 2021 was over. “As I said earlier, these scripts are written up there (points skywards). We don't know what these scripts are all about. Look at Clive Lloyd for example. Winning the World Cup in 1975 and 1979 and then what happened in 1983, he lost the final to India.” “In 1985 in the Champions of Champions, again he lost. In Test cricket and one-day cricket, in the last couple of years, he didn't win." "Here, it could actually be, forget what happened with RCB etcetera, here he could end [up] lifting the World Cup trophy. That would be the most glorious end to his captaincy that one could imagine," Gavaskar signed off. Kohli will begin his final journey as a T20 skipper from October 24th, when the Indian cricket team is scheduled to take on neighbouring rivals Pakistan at the Dubai International Stadium. View the full article
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Till the time he was captain, Virat Kohli always led Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) with great passion and commitment. Under his leadership, the franchise played some incredible cricket and even came close to winning the title in 2016 when they reached the final but came up short against SunRisers Hyderabad in the summit clash. From a personal point of view, Kohli always led by example and broke several records, establishing himself as the most prolific run-scorer in the tournament. © Instagram Virat Kohli Despite that, former England captain and cricket expert Michael Vaughan feels that people will not remember him fondly as an RCB captain, solely because of the fact that he didn’t win any silverware and that is what defines the legacy of a successful leader. Speaking to Cricbuzz, Vaughan said that Kohli would be remembered as a skipper who never won anything and more than fans he would himself consider his IPL captaincy tenure as a failure as he couldn’t guide his team to any titles. “His legacy as captain in IPL cricket would be one that didn’t win. That’s what it’s about – high-level sport is about getting over the line, winning trophies, particularly when you’re at the standard of what Virat Kohli is at. I’m certainly not saying that he is, but he will see himself as a failure in IPL captaincy – because he is such a driven player and person – since he’s not got that trophy in his hands,” Vaughan said in a Cricbuzz video. The 46-year-old further argued that while Kohli has taken Indian cricket to new heights in the longest format, he hasn’t been able to do the same in the limited-overs cricket -- be it for India or RCB. He has fallen way behind against the likes of MS Dhoni, Eoin Morgan, and Rohit Sharma when it comes to the white-ball captaincy. © Instagram Virat Kohli “In terms of what Virat is doing with the Test team and Test match cricket, developing the Indian team, he is terrific. You’d have to say and be honest, that in one-day cricket and T20 for the national side and the Royal Challengers Bangalore, he has fallen a long way short,” Vaughan said. The former England captain also felt that this year's RCB squad was the most balanced unit that they ever put on the field and given the players that were at his disposal this perhaps was their best chance of ending their title drought. © Instagram Virat Kohli “The talent and the squad that he has to work with is right up there with the best. The RCB team over the years is very top-heavy with the batting. This year, with the quality of Maxwell and Harshal Patel and Chahal, they had the bowling to match the batting, and yet they have fallen short,” he further added. Yes, Vaughan is right in saying that it’s the number of trophies that define the legacy of any leader but that doesn’t take away from the fact that it’s a sport and only one team can win. Over the years, we have seen many elite leaders finishing their careers without winning a major trophy but that doesn’t mean we can call their stint a failure. © Twitter IPL Winning a trophy is important, but it is not everything. The way Kohli led RCB all these years, he can be mighty proud that he was able to create an atmosphere where players performed to their potential and fought till the very end. As far as winning trophies is concerned, Kohli has taken a step back and everybody knows what happens when a lion takes a couple of strides back. View the full article
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Sunil Gavaskar has come to be known for his cutthroat criticism of almost everything that any of the Indian cricketers do. However, on the day Virat Kohli lost his final match as the captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore, he shed the ‘tough guy’ avatar and showed his sympathetic side for the first time in a while. When it comes to Gavaskar’s harsh comments, nobody is ever safe. From blaming Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav for getting lazy after getting the Indian team call, to lashing out at former England skipper Nasser Hussain on live television, the former Indian captain has made a name for himself for being a bit of a loose cannon. Sunil Gavaskar ripping into Nasser Hussain for mentioning in his Op-ed that India were bullied in England previously. Thoughts?? (Audio Only) . . . .#Cricket #INDvsEND #JamesAnderson #gavaskar #NasserHussain #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/intd7cwcPr — Sportiks (@Sportiks5) August 26, 2021 So once Kohli’s RCB were knocked out from the IPL 2021 playoffs after the loss against Kolkata Knight Riders, people were expecting another outburst of anger and sarcastic comments from ‘Sunny G’ but this time around, things were radically different. Instead of blaming Kohli for “being an incompetent skipper” or calling out “RCB’s bad strategy,” the commentator and analyst chose the route of humbleness. He compared Kohli to some of the other greats this game has ever seen, who excelled as players but were unable to finish their last rides on a high. View this post on Instagram “Everybody wants to finish on a high. But these things never always happen according to your or fans’ wishes. Look at what happened to Sir Don Bradman. Just four runs were needed in his last innings and he gets out for a zero,” Gavaskar told Star Sports. “Sachin Tendulkar would have wanted to finish with a hundred, he got 79 (Tendulkar scored 74) in Mumbai, his 200th Test match. 79 is not bad but somebody who is used to making hundreds would have wanted to get those extra 21 runs and then end his Test career there,” Gavaskar added. View this post on Instagram Kohli’s contributions towards building RCB as one of the most popular brands in the league, despite the lack of IPL championships, were also credited by Gavaskar. “He has given RCB that kind of profile, that brand recognition that very (few) cricketers have given to their franchise,” he said. “The script is not always written that way. Not everybody has this great fortune of going on a high. But can one ever dispute what he has done for RCB? He has done magnificently. There was one year when he got 973 runs, 27 runs short of 1000 runs. Nobody has done it, nobody looks like ever getting to 1000 runs.” After the loss, Kohli was seen getting extremely emotional while trying to hide his tears behind the cap. His teammate and one of the closest friends he has in international cricket, AB de Villiers was also tearing up in the team huddle. View the full article
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Cometh the hour cometh the man. This is exactly what happened when Chennai Super Kings played Delhi Capitals, the best team in the league phase of the tournament, in the Qualifier 1 of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. MS Dhoni, who had failed to deliver with the bat throughout the season, promoted himself up the order ahead of in-form Ravindra Jadeja and did what he does best -- finish the game in style. What it feels to be an MS Dhoni fan #VIVOIPL | @imVkohli | @msdhoni pic.twitter.com/4gHinYR8kz — IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) October 10, 2021 When Dhoni came in to bat, CSK needed 24 off 11 deliveries. This move of promoting himself could have backfired but Dhoni knew exactly what he was doing. Over the next couple of overs, we got to see a vintage Dhoni instilling fear in the minds of opposition bowlers with his clean and powerful hitting. Once again Blessing on your TL@msdhoni pic.twitter.com/3IGVrTrfQv — தல ViNo MSD 5.0 (@KillerViNooo7) October 10, 2021 Turning back the clock, ‘Thala’, as he is famously called by the CSK fans, smashed four boundaries, including a hit over the fence, during his six-ball long cameo and guided his side home with two balls to spare. Witnessing Dhoni finish the game after a long time brought back old memories and made everyone nostalgic, including Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli. Whenever we talk about the greatest finishers in white-ball cricket, Dhoni’s name is always in contention. However, he couldn’t make an impact throughout the league phase of the 14th edition of the tournament and people had started doubting his abilities and whether he still had it in him to finish off matches like he once used to. With this knock, Dhoni shut down all his critics and proved “no matter how old the lion is, he never forgets to hunt”. Taking to Twitter, Kohli hailed Dhoni as the “greatest finisher ever” in the game. His emotions described exactly what the whole of India felt when they witnessed Dhoni’s old self. Anddddd the king is back the greatest finisher ever in the game. Made me jump Outta my seat once again tonight.@msdhoni — Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) October 10, 2021 “Anddddd the king is back the greatest finisher ever in the game. Made me jump Outta my seat once again tonight. @msdhoni,” Kohli tweeted. Anddddd the king is back the greatest finisher ever in the game. Made me jump Outta my seat once again tonight.@msdhoni — Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) October 10, 2021 “Wow what a match. My heart goes out to the young #DC team. Hard luck boys & all the best for the next game. Tonight belonged to #CSK. #Dhoni the finisher leading from the front, inspiring his players to give their best & keeping his cool at all times #DCvsCSK @IPL#Finisher,” Preity Zinta tweeted. Wow what a match. My heart goes out to the young #DC team. Hard luck boys & all the best for the next game. Tonight belonged to #CSK. #Dhoni the finisher leading from the front, inspiring his players to give their best & keeping his cool at all times #DCvsCSK @IPL #Finisher — Preity G Zinta (@realpreityzinta) October 10, 2021The art of finishing - @msdhoni style. What an absolute cracker of a game. So many memories come alive when you see MSD finish a game like that #Dhoni #DCvsCSK — Jay Shah (@JayShah) October 10, 2021Apart from expressing his raw emotions, Kohli’s tweet was also a tight slap to all those who speculated he was not happy with Dhoni becoming Team India’s mentor for the upcoming T20 World Cup. The RCB and CSK fans might not see each other eye to eye but Kohli and Dhoni have always shared a great camaraderie and have immense respect for each other. View the full article
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As Mumbai Indians won their match against SunRisers Hyderabad with a massive 42-run margin, their IPL 2021 campaign came to an early end after they failed to make it to the playoffs only for the fifth time in 14 seasons. However, if there was a silver lining for the five-time IPL champions, it was the confirmation of wicket-keeper batter Ishan Kishan’s return to form and faith in himself to be the run-getter that the fans have gotten used to over the past couple of years. View this post on Instagram Once again opening the batting order for Rohit Sharma’s squad on Friday, Kishan scored 11 4s and four 6s on his way to an 84-run innings in just 32 deliveries. With the lack of nervousness and no chip on his shoulders, Kishan looked a lot more comfortable at the top-order spot and swinging for the fences like there was no tomorrow. With a second consecutively solid performance coming off of Kishan’s bat on the pitches of the United Arab Emirates, this is a good sign for the young southpaw and his chances of showing up in the Playing XI for the Men in Blue in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2021 at the same venue. View this post on Instagram After receiving his ‘Player of the Match’ prize on Friday, Kishan gave some insight into Team India’s dressing room talks and the kind of conversations he has been having with skipper Virat Kohli and some of the other senior members of the side. “I had a good chat with Virat bhai, Jasprit bhai also helped me. Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya also supported me. Everyone supported me and said this is a learning stage for me and make sure that I should learn from my mistakes here and not repeat it during the T20 World Cup,” said Ishan after the match against SunRisers Hyderabad. View this post on Instagram “Virat bhai told me ‘You are selected as an opener, you just have to be prepared for that. But at the bigger level, you need to be prepared for everything,” he added. However, the cricketer’s fans warned the young lad about not depending too much on what Kohli has promised him with regards to his World Cup chances as an opening batter: If he's picked as an opener, he'll on the bench the entire tournament. — Saurav || सौरभ (@farzi_expert) October 8, 2021Backup opener. — Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) October 8, 2021He doesn't told like that, you will be opener because having kl and rohit, don't you see kl knock yesterday, he can do both class and everything in it, we need to sit Rohit but India doesn't do that, may be virat also because of his low sr but not able to do he's the Captain — shelby (@vasanth02299143) October 9, 2021*must be backup opener — (@JeelPat48520624) October 8, 2021But I thought he is backup of pantbecause we seriously need backup of pant,he is not in a good form. I hope virat just said this to only motivate him. — taniya (@Tsr200308) October 8, 2021Virat bhai khud kab aisi batting krenge — आलसी मानुस (@Highlander__1) October 8, 2021 View the full article
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Watching his name being linked to Virat Kohli’s captaincy resignation, veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has finally broken his silence on the matter and described it as “fake news”. View this post on Instagram A couple of days ago, some of the media houses published a report claiming that the off-spinner was 'not happy' with Virat Kohli and had reached out to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah) with a complaint about the skipper. The report further added that Ashwin had raised concerns about insecurity within the team. © Reuters Instead of getting angry over these serious allegations, Ashwin took a unique approach to get his message across. Rather than launching a direct attack, the Delhi Capitals spinner took a sarcastic dig and pulled up news agency Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) for publishing fake news, pitting him against Kohli. Ashwin reacts to IANS Media Report claiming Ashwin was the one who made complaint on Kohli captaincy @ashwinravi99 @imVkohli pic.twitter.com/FaKRjSXfju — Nancy and Hande's Mogudni (@preetham_MB) September 30, 2021 “I am searching for the handle called “Fake News”, it used to be super fun for Gossip,” Ashwin wrote on his Instagram stories. “Ohh yeah!! Thank you guys. Found Them: I just heard they have renamed themselves and are now called IANS and some others take quotes from them too. Super Fun,” he added. The IANS had reported that Ashwin 'wasn’t happy' with Kohli because he had questioned him for not showing enough intent in the World Test Championship final against New Zealand in Southampton in June this year. © Reuters Ashwin is not the only Indian cricketer who has been accused of complaining against Kohli, a report in the New Indian Express had claimed that the batting duo of Ajinkya Rahane and Chetewshwar Pujara had dialled Jay Shah and complained about Kohli after their fallout with the skipper in the dressing room after India had suffered an eight-wicket loss in the WTC final. While these two players have yet to respond to the allegations, the BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal has rubbished all such reports and said that no Indian cricketer has complained about Kohli by any medium. He even urged the media houses to “stop writing rubbish” as it affects the atmosphere within the team. © Reuters “The media must stop writing this rubbish. Let me say this on the record that no Indian cricketer has made any complaint to the BCCI - written or verbal. The BCCI can't keep answering every false report that keeps appearing. The other day, we saw some reports saying there will be changes in India's World Cup squad. Who said that?” Dhumal told The Times of India. Ashwin was one of the better performers for Team India in the WTC final, picking up two wickets each in both innings. So, it’s to believe that Kohli would have confronted him for showing a lack of intent in the game. © Reuters As far as Pujara and Rahane are concerned, they are not part of India’s limited-overs set-up. Hence, whoever is saying that Kohli gave up his T20 captaincy because he had a fallout with them only makes those people look stupid. Moreover, in a couple of week’s time, Team India will start its T20 World Cup campaign in the United Arab Emirates and if we want our team to go all the way in the tournament we shouldn’t pay much heed to these reports and get behind our players. View the full article
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Not too long ago, Virat Kohli shared a message from his social media account announcing his resignation from the position of the Indian captain in T20Is after the conclusion of the T20 World Cup 2021. Kohli suggested that the reason behind taking such drastic action was to focus on his skills as a batter. View this post on Instagram However, new media reports suggest that the real reason is a lot more deep-cutting than Kohli trying to get better with the bat. In fact, it is being reported that the root cause for such a sudden move was Chennai off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin complaining to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary about feeling a sense of insecurity in the team because of the skipper. According to Cricket Addictor, many sources confirmed the fact that it was Ashwin who had revolted against Virat Kohli when the captain expressed his dissatisfaction with him for lack of intent during the World Test Championships final against New Zealand in June 2021. View this post on Instagram The relationship between Ashwin and Kohli seemed to turn sour during the Indian cricket team’s time in England, especially after the off-spinner did not get to play in even one of the four Test matches that took place in the United Kingdom. It is also being reported that Kohli’s disregard for Ashwin went beyond the England series. A Times of India report had mentioned how Ashwin was never going to be Kohli’s first pick for the T20 World Cup 2021 squad. In fact, the skipper wanted Washington Sundar to get the spot. However, Sundar got severely injured ahead of the England series. View this post on Instagram It was later also speculated that after Sundar went down with an injury, Kohli wanted Yuzvendra Chahal as a replacement and Ashwin still had nowhere to go. While at the moment, Kohli has only announced his retirement from T20 cricket at the end of the 2021 World Cup, it is also widely believed that he will end up giving away his captaincy in white-ball cricket (T20Is and ODIs) completely. Vice-captain Rohit Sharma is believed to assume complete authority of the Indian cricket team after the end of the quadrennial contest. View the full article
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After two consecutive defeats, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) brought their Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) campaign back on track with a comprehensive 54-run win over defending champions Mumbai Indians. With two of India’s biggest stars Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma going up against each other, the match was being touted as the battle of supremacy, at least that’s how fans perceived the game from the outside. © Credit Twitter IPL The match was well-poised at the halfway mark but it was Kohli’s men who executed their plans really well in moments that mattered the most and forced MI’s top-quality batting line-up to succumb under pressure. It was a team game and the RCB skipper, after the match, was pretty happy about how his boys performed in all three departments of the game. That's that from Match 39.#RCB WIN by 54 runs! Scorecard - https://t.co/KkzfsLzXUZ #RCBvMI #VIVOIPL pic.twitter.com/BjMwBoAlmJ — IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) September 26, 2021 While everyone was happy that RCB registered their first win since the restart of the IPL 2021, there was one incident that evoked mixed reactions from the fans. The incident occurred in the ninth over of the RCB innings when KS Bharat smashed Rahul Chahar for a six over deep mid-wicket and fisted his pump in the air. His celebration, however, didn’t last very long as he was dismissed on the very next delivery. It was Chahar’s time to celebrate now and he did that in a rather aggressive manner, that most people didn’t like. Bharat did this after hitting a six. So Chahar just gave it back. Nothing wrong pic.twitter.com/0HzpQpNiCq — jd (@j_dhillon7) September 26, 2021 While most fans were fine with Bharat’s burst of emotion, former England skipper Michael Vaughan felt that it was “quite immature” and indicated that the player was not thinking about the team but himself. Vaughan further said that hitting a six didn’t warrant an extravagant celebration like that because clearing ropes in T20 cricket should be normal for any batter, it’s their job to score runs for their side. “I'll be honest with you... RCB.. I don't want to feel like I am picking on them but I just don't like the mentality. I don't like seeing fistbumps for someone hitting a six, you know, in the ninth over. You hit a six but that's your job to get the ball over the ropes. You give a fistbump when you celebrate at the end of the game when you have won. I have seen little celebrations at the wrong moment from the RCB team,” Vaughan said on the Cricbuzz mid-innings show. “I just don't see the mechanism of maturity. It looks quite immature group that's celebrating someone hitting a six in the 8th over. So what? Who cares about that? That's for later on in a couple of hours time when you start celebrating. I see some of the things in this group that... yeah, I am not too sure I think they are almost playing individually rather than a collective,” he added. However, the RCB fans quickly came to their skipper’s rescue and took a dig at the former England international saying RCB might be immature but not more than him. The comments were aimed at Vaughan’s various tweets that more often than not make him look silly and turn him into a laughing stock. yes, but not more than michael vaughan immaturity — Pramod (@pspramod1437) September 26, 2021 Muh kholta hi kyu hai ye banda — Virushka|| (@virushkatweets) September 26, 2021 Yess but not more than u @MichaelVaughan — Nirmal Ambedkar (@NirmalAmbedkar) September 26, 2021 Khud toh jada mature h, baat krta h — Sibans (@sibans_behera5) September 26, 2021 From demanding cancelation of ipl to giving his unwanted opinions on ipl that's Micheal clown for u. — MattBlackBeard (@mattblackbeard) September 27, 2021 While Vaughan might be right in saying that players must know how to keep hold of their emotions better, his scathing remarks against a side that just outclassed a top side like Mumbai Indians was a bit too much. Closely analysing RCB’s victory, one would realise that their win was not possible due to one man’s brilliance, it was a result of the whole group coming together and doing their bit to help the team get over the line. © Credit Twitter IPL In batting, Kohli, Bharat and Glenn Maxwell all played crucial roles, while Yuzvendra Chahal, Harshal Patel and Maxwell chipped in with crucial wickets at crucial stages of the game. Hence, Vaughan’s analysis that RCB players play for their individual records and don’t have any cohesion among them couldn’t be further from the truth. View the full article
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The International Cricket Council (ICC) launched the T20 World Cup 2021 anthem on Thursday which is titled ‘Live The Game’ and it features some of the top players from all over the world, including Indian captain Virat Kohli, former Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan, Australia’s Glenn Maxwell and West Indies great Kieron Pollard. However, there was one problem with the video which seems to be causing a lot of mixed reactions in the global cricket community. The majority of the video is animated and the players mentioned above have been turned into cartoon characters. This annoyed a lot of the fans who even compared the video of some of the other famous cartoon shows such as Pokemon and games such as Stick Cricket. Initially it looked like a Pokémon theme for me #ICCT20WorldCup2021 https://t.co/lGOOYh5a28 — Kaustubh Mokal (@KaustubhMokal3) September 23, 2021Got me memories of stick cricket https://t.co/iuIQqODosi — Madhan|kl stan acc (@networkissue_) September 23, 2021what a crap. https://t.co/HySUgMDUSP — Avinash Singh Rathore (@being__shiva__) September 23, 2021They want me to take this sport seriously https://t.co/lGRiSHAWxW — Shehryar (@shehrryaar) September 23, 2021 Another problem that people found was that the anthem in itself wasn’t as good as some of the previous anthems have been for various ICC tournaments in the past. Some felt that the T20 World Cup 2014 continues to be the most catchy song in cricketing history, while others feel it is the World Cup 2011 anthem ‘De Ghuma Ke’ composed by the legendary Indian musical trio of Shankar-Ehsan-Loy which remains undefeated. Thankfully, there were a lot of the fans who genuinely liked the whole concept and found the anthem very entertaining as well. ...This is the kind we love to.. https://t.co/ISMVUMRJ01 — Monu (@crixmonu) September 23, 2021My most fav tournament is less than a month away. Love the promo of @T20WorldCup Hope India wins this time and @imVkohli lifts the trophy. #T20WorldCup https://t.co/Iu1YV8HmTQ — Nikhil Ram (@Nikhil_Rams) September 23, 2021#t20worldcup2021 @ICC That's amazing.. https://t.co/CRBfrx3tAM — Rahul Kumar (@RahulDe69903093) September 23, 2021Love this can't wait for the big show https://t.co/MM8mZ6UY9D — Shilpa Udayan (@shilpa_udayan) September 23, 2021 Given the extremely difficult conditions, thanks to the global pandemic and the extremely tight schedules that are being followed by some of the top cricket teams in the world at the moment, it is understandable that ICC’s media team did not get the opportunity to specifically shoot video footage with the respective cricket stars. Considering the practicality of these issues, it can be said that they did a great job creating the anthem. The T20 World Cup is scheduled to begin on October 17, 2021, which is just two days after the final match of the 2021 season of the Indian Premier League. Most of the world-class players will already be in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where the World Cup will be hosted by India. View the full article
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Ever since he announced that he would step down from T20 captaincy, a lot has changed for Virat Kohli in the last one week. It seems like the Indian talisman, who once led the team by example, doesn’t command the same respect within the dressing room anymore. His struggle with the bat is quite evident but it’s his attitude that has started to create a divide within the team. If reports are to be believed, ever since he came out and questioned the Indian players’ “lack of intent” after the World Test Championship final loss, Kohli lost the respect of his peers. According to a report published in The Telegraph India, the situation became so serious that at least one senior cricketer raised this issue in front of the BCCI secretary Jay Shah. © Reuters “Kohli is losing control. He has lost respect and some of the players are not liking his attitude. He is no more an inspirational leader and he doesn’t earn the players’ respect. Some of them have reached their limits when it comes to dealing with him,” a report in The Telegraph India quoted sources as saying. © Reuters The WTC final loss was the team's collective failure. The Indian batsmen didn’t score enough runs and the bowling attack failed to pick 20 wickets. Let’s not forget the conditions that were on offer throughout the six days of cricket, the New Zealand players felt at home. They grew up playing in similar conditions all their life and certainly made better use of the conditions. Hence, when Kohli raised the issue of “lack of intent” and hinted towards an overhaul in the Test side, it took everyone by surprise. He didn’t take any names but it wasn’t hard to figure out who he was talking about. Cheteshawar Pujara had consumed a lot of deliveries in both the innings (8 runs off 54 balls & 15 runs off 80 balls) but couldn’t score enough runs. © Reuters “Virat understands that he no more calls the shots. His powers are on the wane and every move of his will be questioned. There’s no doubt that he is one of the best batsmen in world cricket. But you cannot let leadership burden your batting,” the report added. The player who was known for breaching the three-figure mark at regular intervals, hasn’t scored an international century in almost two years. The fact everything was going smoothly when runs were coming off his willow shows that his lean patch is playing on his mind and has started to affect his leadership as well. © Reuters One thing is clear that gone are the days when Kohli used to enjoy absolute power in all matters. The developments in the last few weeks indicate a clear shift in the power dynamics and Kohli is definitely not its focal point. A lot depends on how the team fares in the upcoming T20 World Cup, because one more disappointment in the ICC event could mean an end to Kohli’s limited-overs captaincy. View the full article
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Virat Kohli declaring his resignation as the Team India captain in the shortest format of the game after the T20 World Cup 2021 has sent big shockwaves across the Indian cricketing community. While the obvious heartbreak and celebrations ensue, some of the more controversial topics such as the BCCI trying to cover it up, have become major talking points. Earlier this week, a report shared by The Times of India suggested that Kohli was going to give up his captaincy in both T20Is and ODIs. The reason given behind it was that the cricketer simply wanted to focus on becoming a better batsman and retain the form he has lost over the last couple of years. pic.twitter.com/Ds7okjhj9J — Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) September 16, 2021 BCCI secretary Jay Shah not only rubbished these reports but even went on to say that the cricket board was a hundred percent backing Kohli up as the team captain. “There is no such proposal and the team is led by Virat and we are backing him,” he had said in an interview with Cricbuzz. However, as soon as Kohli’s Twitter post went public and the news about his resignation was out in the open, the Shah not only showed his support towards Kohli’s decision but went on to say that he was aware of it all over six months ago and was in constant touch with the cricketer in his journey of decision-making. Thanks @imVKohli for your contribution as the #TeamIndia captain. As a young talent the focus and determination you have showed as the captain is unmatched. The most impressive aspect was the way of maintaining balance between captaincy and individual performance. — Jay Shah (@JayShah) September 16, 2021 "We have a clear roadmap for Team India. Considering the workloads and ensuring that we have smooth transition, Mr Virat Kohli has decided to step down as T20I Captain after the upcoming World Cup,” Shah said on the official BCCI website. “I have been in discussions with Virat and the leadership team for the last six months and the decision has been thought through. Virat will continue to contribute as a player and as a senior member of the side in shaping the future course of Indian cricket,” he added. Those who have been following the drama around Kohli and his captaincy, quickly connected the dots and have started asking the right questions to the right people: Jay Shah: "I have been in discussions with Virat and the leadership team for the last six months and the decision has been thought through." So why was it okay to lie and say that 'the question of change in captaincy doesn’t arise' just two days ago? — Ashish Magotra (@clutchplay) September 16, 2021Jay Shah On September 14: “As long as a team is performing while on the crease, the question of change in captaincy doesn’t arise.” On September 16: "I have been in discussions with #Virat and the leadership team for the last six months and the decision has been thought through" — امت AMIT CHAUDHARY (@amit_tweet) September 16, 2021BCCI secy on Sept14: As long as a team is performing while on the crease, the question of change in captaincy doesn’t arise. BCCI secyon Sept 16: I have been in discussions with #Virat and the leadership team for the last six months and the decision has been thought through. — Amol Karhadkar (@karhacter) September 16, 20213 din pehle overacting kyu krre thhe sir — Shivani (@meme_ki_diwani) September 16, 2021 View the full article
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After Virat Kohli announced his decision to resign from the position of the Indian cricket captain in the T20I format of the game following the T20 World Cup 2021, former player, Sandeep Patil has shown his concerns about the communication gap between Kohli and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) regarding the announcement. pic.twitter.com/Ds7okjhj9J — Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) September 16, 2021 Just a day before Kohli broke the news via his Instagram account, BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal had rubbished these reports when he said: “This is all rubbish. Nothing (as) such is happening. This is all what you guys (media) are talking about. BCCI has not met or discussed anything on this issue (split captaincy). Virat will remain as the captain (of all formats).” Even BCCI Secretary Jay Shah had downplayed the rumours and media reports suggesting: “There is no such proposal and the team is led by Virat and we are backing him.” NEWS : Virat Kohli to step down as T20I captain after World Cup. #TeamIndia Details — BCCI (@BCCI) September 16, 2021 After it was made evident that both Shah and Dhumal were trying to cover up the news and magnificently failing to do so, Sandeep Patil has criticised the lack of synergy between the skipper and the Indian cricket board: “It seems that there's a big communication gap between BCCI and Virat. You can't have Virat say one thing and the BCCI another. Just a couple of days back, there was a story in TOI about him quitting as a white-ball captain to focus on his batting. However, the BCCI treasurer Arun Dhumal rubbished that news quickly. This is purely Virat's decision, and the BCCI should just accept it." Now that the cat’s out of the bag, the official statement given by Jay Shah on the BCCI website suggests that event of Kohli stepping down from captaincy wasn’t just imminent but also being discussed for almost half a year. Jay Shah (BCCI web): I have been in discussions with Virat and the leadership team for the last six months and the decision has been thought through. Virat will continue to contribute as a player and as a senior member of the side in shaping the future course of Indian cricket. — Aditya Pandey (@adityapandey148) September 17, 2021 “I have been in discussions with Virat and the leadership team for the last six months and the decision has been thought through. Virat will continue to contribute as a player and as a senior member of the side in shaping the future course of Indian cricket,” he commented on the BCCI website. View the full article