Virat Kohli indirectly calls Steve Smith a cheat
Virat Kohli isn't someone who believes in keeping his thoughts to himself and he did not shy away today when asked about the Steve Smith DRS fiasco. Kohli stopped just short of calling the rival captain a cheat for his act of looking to the dressing room for advice on his DRS decision.
The controversial incident occurred in the 21st over when Smith was trapped plumb in front of his stumps. Having already used a review for David Warner, the Australians appeared to be deciding whether or not to use their final one. Within the allotted 15-second window, Smith looked for some divine inspiration and looked towards the dressing room for a signal to make a decision, something that caught the eyes of the on-field umpires and Kohli.
Kohli confronted Smith and approached the umpire to discuss the matter. The rules of usage of DRS clearly state that 'signals from dressing room must not be given', and Kohli asked the umpire to reject the review appeal - something the umpire agreed with. During his post-match press conference, Kohli went on to add that it wasn't the first time that Smith had done this.
I don't want to mention the word but it falls in that bracket
Kohli on Smith
"We have been inconsistent with the DRS but we take our decisions on the field, we don't ask for confirmation from the dressing room," Kohli said after the match.
"I have seen it twice while batting. I have seen their players looking upstairs (dressing room). I told the umpires, this had to stop. I don't want to mention the word but it falls in that bracket. I would never do something like that on the cricket field."
When asked directly if he was calling Smith a cheat, Kohli quickly replied, "I have not said that either."
The other player party to this incident, Steve Smith, was asked about what his thoughts were on what had transpired in his post-match press conference. Smith, however, put his actions down to a "brain fade" and said that he was ashamed that it had happened.
Kohli, however, was having none of it stating, "I can only say, if it happens more than twice, it's not brain fade."