Virat Kohli would have been criticised if he wasn’t this good, says Sanjay Manjrekar

Virat Kohli would have been criticised if he wasn’t this good, says Sanjay Manjrekar

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Sanjay Manjrekar opined that Indian captain Virat Kohli would have been severely criticised for his on-field antics if he wasn’t scoring runs consistently for India. Manjrekar added that Kohli gets away with ‘a lot’ because of the ‘brand’ of cricketer that the latter portrays, on and off the field.

Virat Kohli is well-renowned for his passion on the pitch and that’s what sets him apart from the rest of the cricketers out there. And it has got the better of him in the Perth Test as it led to the Indian captain making headlines once again, as he almost came in the way of opposition captain Tim Paine while completing a run during. It didn't go down well with commentator and former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar, who slammed the skipper in the lunch-time talk show on Sony Six.

“...that last gesture, Virat Kohli coming in the way of Tim Paine, that was completely uncalled for. Actually, what if Kohli was not a such a great player getting all the runs that he does — some of his antics and behaviour on the field would have created quite a bit of stir and got lot more criticism. It’s just that he is such a champion batsman, people are sort of accepting that,” Manjrekar pointed out.

The ex-cricketer also highlighted how the Indians have largely been the aggressors in the ongoing series while the Australian cricketers are aiming to change themselves into ‘nice guys’ in the international circuit. Manjrekar also added that Kohli got away with a lot of antics for which his other counterparts would be criticised.

“In this Test match, in this series so far, the guy who has been most aggravated on the field on both sides has been the Indian captain. He can get runs despite having this kind of approach to cricket.

“For example, I mentioned Virat Kohli, the brand and that’s why he gets away with a lot of things. Lot of people haven’t talked about his reaction after he was given out [on Sunday]. Any other player – low profile name – I am sure would have got some kind of a warning from the referee.

“We have heard nothing from the officials about his behaviour when he walked off. If you see that again, and at some point we have to show it, because there’s a clear show of dissent in public that he was given out. He was mouthing something and it was really out there for everyone to see. And I think again, the Virat Kohli brand has helped Virat Kohli not get the rap on the knuckle that he deserves,” Manjrekar concluded.

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