Former South African player Daryll Cullinan has slammed Virat Kohli for his outburst on the field after an LBW decision against South Africa batsman Dean Elgar was overturned due to the DRS. And, as per Cullinan, Kohli has got away with unacceptable behaviour on the field as well.
Notably, there was a huge DRS controversy on Day 3 of the Cape Town Test after Elgar was given not out by the TV umpire while batting at 22. Ravichandran Ashwin struck Elgar in front of the stumps and was given out lbw by on-field umpire Marais Erasmus as well.
While it looked like a straightforward lbw at first, ball-tracking showed the delivery missed the stumps and Kohli got angry as well. Virat Kohli was heard on the stump mic saying: “Focus on your team as well and not just the opposition.”
Daryll Cullinan, meanwhile, was not impressed with his behaviour. While speaking on ESPNCricinfo, he said:
“This is the typical Virat’s untouchable, he behaves the way he wants to behave. The rest of the cricket world just bows down to Virat. The powerhouse is India. I hate to say this but it’s been going on for years. It’s just the big suck up towards India and anybody who plays for India. They are untouchable, so everyone will laugh it off.”
He continued:
“I love Virat Kohli, I love his cricket, I love the way he plays. But there has to be a line drawn somewhere to say ‘hang on, you must be severely punished’. If anything, it was a mistake. I just cannot believe that they could think along those sort of lines. For too long Virat has got away with behavior which is unacceptable on a cricket field. But he’s Kohli and I don’t like it, quite frankly.”
“That is a serious kind of insinuation” – Sanjay Manjrekar
However, Team India lost their focus after the lbw controversy, which allowed Dean Elgar and Keegan Petersen to steady the ship. On the other hand, former India player Sanjay Manjrekar has shared similar views to Cullinan over the DRS controversy as well. He said:
“There was an insinuation from the Indian camp that the host broadcasters were up to some mischief to make sure they were putting their own team at an advantage. That is a serious kind of insinuation. I have a problem with that.”
Meanwhile, South Africa ended Day 3 of the third Test at 101 for 2. They need 111 runs more to win the Test and the series on Day 4 as well.
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