London: Amidst Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma spending quality time together and exploring the city of London, there is one nagging fear that is haunting the Indian cricket team. And that is related to the Indian skipper’s aggressive attitude on the cricket field.
Off the field, Kohli is always smiling and docile, but on the greens he lets it go no-holds barred. Kohli has already been disciplined once for arguing with the umpire, but that has not stopped him from repeating the act in the game against Bangladesh. In that match Kohli was once more seen arguing with umpires Marais Erasmus and Ruchira Palliyaguruge after India lost a review in which the third umpire did not use the ‘ball tracking system’. It must be stated here that Kohli had been fined 25% of his match fee for excessive appealing in the game against Afghanistan.
Kohli already has two demerit points against his name. If the ICC pulls up Kohli once more for his animated remonstrations against the umpires in the Bangladesh game, the chances are that he will face suspension. If it happens it will certainly be a body blow for the Men in Blue.
ICC rules state that if any cricketer gets 4 demerit points within a period of two years, he is banned from playing two games for his country. The Indian team are just keeping their fingers crossed and hoping that Kohli does not incur penalty points any more. They are just hoping that Kohli keeps his cool on ground at least for the Sri Lanka game and the semifinals.
Whether it will happen is a million dollar question which only Kohli can answer. May be Anushka’s presence will relax the frayed nerves. Anushka has taken a break to be at her husband’s side as pressure mounts with India approaching the business end of the tournament.
PNN & Agencies
