Virat Kohli features in Australian media's 'villain of the week'

Ahead of the ongoing Test series between India and Australia, Michael Hussey had termed Virat Kohli as “Australia’s public enemy number one”. At the time, the Indian captain was enjoying a fine run of form going into the series. However, Kohli has failed to replicate the same form, that saw him score four double centuries in as many games, in the series so far. After the second Test in Bengaluru, Kohli had slammed Steve Smith for attempting to use his dressing room’s help for a DRS review to challenge the on-field umpire’s call.

Although Cricket Australia and the Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) have patched up earlier this week, releasing statements in support of their respective captains, the Indian cricket board has also lodged an official complaint with the ICC against Steve Smith and Peter Handscomb, the Australian media are seemingly not willing to let the matter fade away.

After an Australian newspaper accused Kohli of hitting a match official with a bottle of Gatorade, Fox Sports Australia has gone ahead and taken a distasteful dig at Kohli, running a ‘Vettel of the Week’ poll. While the term ‘Vettel of the Week’ is named after four-time Formula one champion Sebastian Vettel, after he grabbed pole position from Australian’s Mark Webber in 2014, it also used as a slang meaning sports villain.

The Fox Sports Australia’s Facebook page ran a poll, saying, “Recent events have prompted a return of our Vettel of The Week award. Kids, ask your grandparents. The rest of you know the drill.” Finally, though the Australian channel did face a severe backlash for the post, it did not bother them as much, as they hit back through some of their comments.