Virat Kohli Needs a Bit of Maturity, Says Steve Waugh
Virat Kohli, feels Steve Waugh, still has some fair distance to travel to master the art of being a gentleman in a gentleman's sport. He can score all the runs in the world but his character is what would describe the cricketer at the end of his journey.
Technique? Check. Skills? Check. Runs and Records? Check. Complete cricketer? The jury is likely to be out on that for some time. Virat Kohli, after all, continues to reveal his boorish side from time to time that makes it hard to imagine him as a successor to the Dravids, Tendulkars and Laxmans. In a gentleman's game, maturity is as significant as form and former Australia captain Steve Waugh can swear by it.
The latest episode which saw Kohli abusing an Indian journalist for a story on him and his girlfriend has revealed the unpolished side of the Indian vice-captain. That it was a case of mistaken identity on part of Kohli has left him further red-faced. (Virat Kohli faces media backlash)
What is shocking though is that for a man who is the deputy leader of the defending World Cup champions, the 26-year-old has been as temperamental as a clueless teenager. For Waugh, who says his 15-year-old son Austin should model his cricket on the lines of Kohli, the batsman's conduct has left a lot to be desired. (India vs West Indies: Time for Gayle vs Kohli!)
"The young Indian star is the best batsman across all formats for me, and really has not put a foot wrong since he landed in Australia at the start of our summer," wrote the legendary Waugh in his column for a national daily. "Which is why I wish he would show little maturity when dealing with situations like the one that arose on Tuesday."
Waugh, who led Aussies to World Cup triumph in 1999 and helped the side to record 16 Test triumphs on-the-trot, has the experience to know that a journalist is bound by the demands of his jobs but not everything reported has an impact on the larger aspect of a cricketer's plans.
"The media have a job to do and every journalist has his opinion," wrote Waugh. "Kohli is too good a player, too inspirational a role model, to really need to tick off someone for an article that came out six months ago. (He) Will soon realise that an article criticising you is an insignificant dot in the larger scheme of the world."
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Indeed, the outburst from the batsman has been an unfortunate blemish in what has been a fluent performance from Team India so far. With 186 runs from three matches, Kohli has played a key role in India's early wins in the tournament.
In the high-pressure opener against Pakistan in particular, the rather volatile Kohli kept his cool to hit an impeccable 107. For him to then lose his temper at a scribe is seen by many as unbecoming of a thorough professional every cricketer seeks to be.
While the said journalist has since filed an official complaint with the Board of Control for Cricket in India and the International Cricket Council, Waugh is confident that Kohli will mellow down in the time to come.
"I am sure he will gain perspective as he grows older," Waugh wrote. With India's Test captaincy already with him and the reigns of ODIs and T20Is expected to follow, it would be interesting to see for how long the new leader of Men in Blue continues to paint himself in the red of rage.