This kind of behaviour does not suit Virat Kohli: Saba Karim

In the just finished Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT 2024–25), Virat Kohli stole the show for all the wrong reasons. After he shoulder-bumped rookie Sam Konstas and was jeered by the crowd during the Melbourne Test, he was first referred to as a clown by the Australian media. The former India captain lost his composure during the fifth Test as a result of the spectators’ intense heat.

The audience was still jeering, and he was positioned at the slip. In a swift response, Virat Kohlii stated that he had no sandpaper in his pockets throughout the exchange. Locals have again reacted negatively to the proposal, and the enthusiasm seems to be unabated. Saba Karim, a former cricket player for India, criticised the great batter’s actions, claiming that the veteran “went too far.”

“I now believe that Virat Kohli should not act in this manner.

He is currently a senior player. I acknowledge that there were a couple of controversial calls made in Australia this time, but they weren’t made by the local referees. Karim told Sports Next, “They were from the neutral umpires.”

“The ICC or the producers and broadcasters should be consulted if there are any questions with technology as well. It’s inappropriate to act that way around the crowd and speak to Sam Konstas in that manner. “I think we’re going too far,” he continued.

If you have to fight on the ground, do it with runs: Saba Karim

Notably, right-handed batsman Virat Kohli had a dismal performance in Australia, scoring just 190 runs in five Test matches. Despite scoring a tonne in the first Test, he only managed to score 90 runs in the final 10 innings. Karim went on to say that Kohli ought to have expressed his aggression by chasing runs and gave instances of some of the series’ major players.

“If you must battle on the field, do so with your performance, with runs, by winning games and taking wickets. The needless violence that we frequently witness on the ground has gotten out of control. As demonstrated to some degree by Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Nitish Kumar Reddy, aggression should be expressed through runs or performance,” Karim concluded.