Virat is a work in progress. He is an engrossing character, who will fight tooth and nail for his partners, and take on the opposition with a blend of aggression and calmness. Many opponents have discovered his anger — in a verbal dose to assert his presence. He firmly believes in giving it back. His middle-finger wagging act in Australia in 2012 was an example of how Virat would not accept things lying down. Repeatedly taunted by the Sydney crowd, he showed the middle finger. ‘I agree cricketers don’t have to retaliate. What when the crowd says the worst things about your mother and sister. The worst I’ve heard, never heard crap like that. EVER,’ he had tweeted. He was unrelenting in his stance and this was seen as the new trend in Indian cricket. There was a place for aggression, and young guns like Virat would not shy away from demonstrating it.
Within a year, Virat once again exploded on the cricket field, but without a bat this time. The Chinnaswamy Stadium witnessed a Virat-Gambhir spat that left the audience stunned. Two Delhi and India teammates going at each other was an unsightly spectacle, but accepted as part of the game in modern times.
A cricketer must be seen as an expressive individual on the field, what with the TV cameras following every moment and beaming it across the world. Virat, in this case, was steering RCB to the target of 155 in the IPL clash with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), when he lost his wicket. Having slammed two sixes off Delhi teammate Pradeep Sangwan, also his India under-19 colleague, Virat attempted to slice L. Balaji, but only holed out to Eoin Morgan.
As he appeared to walk back to the dressing room, something snapped in him and he moved towards Gambhir, who was equally menacing, while confronting a livid Virat. Things had suddenly taken a turn for the worse. Another Delhi player, Bhatia, fielding at third man, sprinted to the spot of action and separated the two from a potentially explosive situation.
‘I felt sad,’ was all that Bhatia would say of the incident that portrayed Virat and Gambhir in poor light. Elsewhere, in Delhi, their coaches were also appalled at the development in Bangalore. ‘We called each other to ensure that neither of us spoke to the media,’ said Gambhir’s coach Sanjay Bhardwaj. For Raj Kumar, it was a ‘minor’ incident and hardly a concern since he knew Gambhir and Virat would soon bury the differences, if there were any. Needless to say there is no love lost between the two.
Virat is not the one to change just for the sake of it. He has always believed in being transparent. He would protest strongly if he saw injustice. During the 2014 England tour, when girlfriend Anushka Sharma stayed in the team hotel, there was a furor in the media. ‘Not part of our culture,’ screamed the team manager Sunil Dev. However, Virat had taken prior permission, even as needless attention was paid to a private matter. It was not as if Virat had smuggled his girlfriend into the hotel in a clandestine manner. The team was aware and so was the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). At another point, Virat erred in lashing out at the wrong journalist during the 2015 World Cup in Australia, mistaking him for the one who had written about Anushka’s presence in the England team hotel.
The World Cup ended up being a disappointment for Virat when he failed against Australia in the semi-final at Sydney. A bouncer from Johnson climbed on him and his resultant pull was a disaster.
His dismissal was uncharitably attributed on social media to the presence of Anushka in the stands. Soon, she would again be in the news, this time for not attending the Mohali match. The Mohali match was where Virat decimated Australia in the 2016 ICC World Twenty20 with an astonishing innings. Following the trolling of Anushka, it was natural for Virat to respond. He stood by her with a strong and well-articulated message on Twitter and Instagram.
His Instagram post read, ‘Shame on those people who have been having a go at Anushka for the longest time and connecting every negative thing to her. Shame on those people calling themselves educated. Shame on blaming and making fun of her when she has no control over what I do with my sport. If anything she has only motivated and given me more positivity. This was long time coming. Shame on these people that hide and take a dig. And I don’t need any respect for this post. Have some compassion and respect her. Think of how your sister or girlfriend or wife would feel if someone trolled them and very conveniently rubbished them in public.’
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Virat’s impatience to excel is highly evident to his dressing room colleagues. Even as the openers pad up, he pads up too, never mind that he is listed to bat in the fourth position. He is ready in his battle gear even before a wicket has fallen. He wants to keep himself involved and once he is at the crease, Virat can change gears amazingly. He is a sprinter and a middle distance runner too. His game sense is phenomenal and he would not mind taking the back seat if his partner is on song. He is quick in deciding which bowler to attack and where to hit a certain bowler. Perfect execution.
vijay.l@thehindu.co.in
