Kohli apologises to scribe but team management says he never used abusive language

The Indian team management has denied that Virat Kohli hurled abuses at a journalist, an act for which the Indian cricketer had apologized,  albeit indirectly. According a report by _PTI_ Kohli today suddenly lost his cool after the training session as he hurled abuses at a journalist before the side’s group league game against West Indies at the WACA on Friday. The report said that Kohli started using filthy language and it went on for some time before he stormed off. Some of his team members too were left gobsmacked at his behaviour. The particular journalist, who was at the receiving end of the tirade, also seemed clueless. However, once Kohli calmed down he told someone close to him that he had mistaken the journalist for another one who had written something unsavoury about him and his girlfriend Anushka Sharma. When he was told that he has mistaken this particular reporter as someone else, Kohli called one of the journalists and through him apologised for the incident. [caption id=“attachment_2027857” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Virat Kohli in this file photo. Reuters[/caption] Now, the Indian team management has denied that any abusive language was used. According to a report on CricketCountry in an email to the Indian media contingent in Perth, the media manager Dr RN Baba said, “There was a misunderstanding and no abusive language was used, Virat has spoken to the concerned gentlemen immediately and matter ends.” While the Indian team management might try to hush up the incident, the journalist who was abused, Hindustan Times’ Jasvinder Sidhu has written an account of the same. According to Sidhu, “I couldn’t believe that I was the one being singled out, I looked askance in either direction. Huffing and puffing, Kohli said, ‘Yes, you ba****d. You are here also’.” Kohli then walked to the locker, while continuing with a string of abuses and staring at Sidhu. After 10 minutes Kohli came out and then smiled and waved at Sidhu, adding to the reporter’s confusion. It seems Kohli called up Sumit Ghosh, a reporter of Bangla daily Ebela and urged him to convey his apology to Sidhu. Sidhu, however wasn’t impressed with Kohli’s so-called apology. He writes in his piece, “I told Sumit, go and tell him that he is an international player and he should learn how to behave. How can he abuse and intimidate someone?” Meanwhile the Indian team manager Ravi Shashtri has continued to praise Virat Kohli. Shastri said the 26-year-old batsman has been the best Indian performer on Australian soil in an interview to PTI. “I think that will be putting too much burden on one individual. He should be allowed to play freely and express himself in the best way possible,” Shastri said when asked if Virat Kohli is destined to break all international batting records. “As far as I am concerned, I have never seen any Indian batsman perform better than Virat Kohli on Australian soil keeping Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman in mind as they have done exceptionally well. I mean show me one Indian batsman who has scored four centuries in four Test matches. He has been phenomenal. He was dominant and that’s the reason we carried the attack back to Australian camp in all the Test matches,” he said. Given that the team has denied that Kohli used abusive language, it seems unlikely that any action will be taken against the India cricket vice-captain. With PTI inputs