Batting great Sunil Gavaskar said that then India captain Virat Kohli’s outburst on the stump mic during the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town could have been easily avoided.
Not only there was an exciting contest between bat and ball in the recently concluded Test series between South Africa and India, but the series also was host to many heated arguments between the players and controversies.
The third Test match of the series, which South Africa won by 7 wickets, was marred by a DRS controversy. It was during the third day in Cape Town when Dean Elgar was trapped in LBW by R Ashwin in their second innings and was given out by the on-field umpire Marais Erasmus.
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South African skipper reviewed the decision and it almost seemed that the original decision would stay as everything was in line and the ball had hit pads below the knee roll of batter. But hawk-eye surprised many as it showed that the ball was missing the stumps on height and the decision was overturned.
As the decision was overturned Indian players including Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, and R Ashwin lashed out at the technology and expressed their frustration. They even targeted the host broadcaster SuperSport.
Virat Kohli was heard saying “Focus on your team while they shine the ball. Not just the opposition. Trying to catch people all the time.”
Reacting to the incident, former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar admitted that playing for the country, players are trying to win and can lose their composure and cool. He said that if they say something while walking that’s a different matter but going towards stump mic and expressing anger doesn’t look good. He remarked that Virat Kohli should’ve avoided lashing out at stump mic.
"When you are playing for your country… when you are trying your best to win, every single moment that you are out there, you can lose your composure and cool. If you say something while you are walking, it’s a different matter, but when you go towards a stump mic – you know it is going to pick up stuff – then it doesn’t look good so that was something that was avoidable,” Sunil Gavaskar told Sports Today.
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Sunil Gavaskar denied that the players were "trying to insinuate" something against the broadcasters, saying they just lost their temper. He, however, also stated that it wasn't the right thing to do.
“Tempers are lost on a sporting arena. You see any sports – whether it is football, cricket or any other sport – tempers are lost. I don’t think they were trying to insinuate something.
“But if you look at it, how would we Indians feel if an overseas team captain did this went to the stump mic and say something to the television channel covering the series. We wouldn’t accept it,” he said.
The decision didn’t cost India much as Dean Elgar was eventually dismissed for 30, but South Africa comfortably chased the target of 212 runs to seal the three-match series 2-1.
(Sports Today inputs)
