Cricket Australia boss James Sutherland on Wednesday took a dig at Virat Kohli, saying he is not sure if the Indian captain knows how spell the word “sorry”. “Look I am not sure he knows how to spell the word,” said Sutherland said on a radio chat Down Under.
Sutherland’s witty response came when the radio jockey asked him whether the 28-year-old should apologise to rival captain Steven Smith for questioning his integrity in the second India-Australia Test in Bengaluru.
Kohli had stopped short of calling Smith a cheat after the Australian skipper sought dressing room’s advice for a DRS call, triggering off a major controversy.
Sutherland, who had called Kohli’s “cheating” claims as outrageous before striking truce with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), hopes the hostilities between the two teams end post the fourth and final Test in Dharamsala.
“After the end of this long and cut-throat series, lets hope the boys from both teams get together and have a bit of a laugh. I know they are going to spend a lot of time together in the IPL, so I am sure if it doesn’t happen after Dharamsala Test, it will happen during the IPL,” Sutherland further added.
Sections of Australia media have repeatedly attacked Kohli, most recently calling him the “Donald Trump of the sporting world”.
Kohli has found himself at the centre of the battles on and off the field ongoing four-match Test series against Australia. The star batsman, who hasn’t yet delivered with the bat, has been criticised not just by former Australian cricketers but also their media.
From Ian Healy to Mitchell Johnson, many voices in Australian cricket have had a go at Kohli. This even prompted former India captain Sunil Gavaskar to describe the Australian media as an extension of cricket team’s support staff.
“We should not bother too much about the Australian media and what they write as they are an extension of their cricket team’s support staff. The focus now should shift to cricket from off-the-field issues,” Gavaskar told NDTV on the eve of the third Test.
