Gautam Gambhir criticises ‘immature’ Virat Kohli for stump mic comment

Former Indian batter Gautam Gambhir said that Virat Kohli’s outburst on Dean Elgar’s DRS call during the Cape Town Test was unacceptable. During South Africa’s run-chase on Day three, Dean Elgar got a massive reprieve as the DRS came to his rescue. On-field umpire Marais Erasmus gave the batter out LBW off R Ashwin after which Elgar decided to send the decision upstairs.

Replays showed that the ball would have missed the stumps by a country mile despite Elgar being struck below the knee roll. The decision didn’t go down well with Kohli, who went up to the stump mic and vented his frustration.

“Focus on your team while they shine the ball. Not just the opposition. Trying to catch people all the time,” Kohli was heard saying in the stump mic.

KL Rahul, the Indian Test vice-captain, also showed his displeasure on the development. “It’s the whole country against 11 guys,” Rahul said.

Ashwin, who was deprived of the wicket, didn’t forget to show his agitation as well. “You should find better ways to win, SuperSport,” he said.

Gautam Gambhir hits out at Kohli

Gambhir, on the entire saga, mentioned that the 33-year-old Kohli shouldn’t have shown his displeasure while being on camera.

“Kohli is very immature. It’s worst for an Indian captain to say like this in stumps. By doing this you will never be an idol to youngsters,” Gambhir was quoted as saying on Star Sports.

Former South Africa fast bowler Shaun Pollock mentioned that India failed to hold on to their nerves after the hosts put them under immense pressure.

“India was desperate to get the wicket and the emotion overflowed after that. The ball pitched in line and bounced and Elgar got a good stride forward. With that stride, it was going to be close,” Pollock said.

“Indians went over the top. Hawk-eye is something you rely on for decision-making. It’s an independent body. They do their level best with everything they have got. They have got their own cameras. I can understand the disappointment because they wanted the wicket but I think they went over the top a little bit,” he added.

Elgar went on to score 30 runs off 96 balls with the help of three fours before Jasprit Bumrah accounted for his wicket. The Proteas need 111 runs to win the Newlands Test with eight wickets in hand. Keegan Petersen, South Africa’s top scorer in the first innings, is their overnight batter.