India vice-captain Virat Kohli has been reported to the ICC and BCCI for abusive behaviour towards a senior journalist during a practice session at Perth.
The incident occurred on Tuesday when Kohli was found ranting at a journalist in full public view and also hurled a few abuses at him. It later turned out that Kohli’s had intended it for a different journalist. He later apologized through another journalist and the team management chose to play down the incident as a case of ‘misunderstanding’.
“He (Kohli) has clarified on the issue. For India, the ongoing World Cup is very important. We need to put all these issues to rest and indirectly has communicated that he misunderstood the situation. Let’s put this matter to an end,” said Anurag Thakur, the newly elected BCCI secretary, to PTI.
“In future I think these kind of incidents should be avoided and taken care of. I have not spoken to players yet, the team management is there, taking care of all the players’ needs,” said Thakur.
The team management also issued a statement saying that, “there was a misunderstanding and no abusive language was used. Virat has spoken to the concerned gentleman immediately and matter ends.”
However the matter has not died down as the concerned journalist, Jasvinder Sidhu of Hindustan Times has gone on to lodge a complaint with the ICC and BCCI.
“I have written a letter to the BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya after consulting our Editor-in-Chief. I have asked Dalmiya to look into the incident. The reporter in question, Jasvinder Sidhu, has also informed the ICC about the incident,” said HT Sports Editor Sukhwant Basra.
The newspaper is also reportedly contemplating legal action against Kohli for his behaviour and are checking if he violated any laws of the land.
