Indian captain Virat Kohli and England all-rounder Ben Stokes got engaged in a heated argument on Day 1 of the fourth and final Test of the series at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
It all happened in the 13th over of England’s first innings when Stokes mouthed a few words at Mohammed Siraj. Although the Indian quick did not say much in return, Kohli decided to take the matter into his hands and went up to Stokes when the latter and Jonny Bairstow were talking in between overs.
The discussion went on between Stokes and Kohli, but just when it looked like the banter may escalate, umpires Nitin Menon and Virender Sharma intervened and separated the two players.
Former England spinner Graeme Swann, who was on-air at that moment, observed what happened in the middle and took aim at Kohli before discussing the same with Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar.
“Maybe it’s not quite so friendly,” Swann said. “It’s not really up to the fielders to butt into the batsmen’s conversations when they’re out in the middle.
Gavaskar, on the other hand, opined: “Just let them get on with it, and you get on with your own game. It all seemed a bit childish to me. That works in the fielding side’s favour because the batsman’s concentration is gone.”
“At this particular point in time, nothing will happen to Virat Kohli for the simple reason he’s fielding.
“But as a batsman, if you’ve lost concentration, it sort of lingers in your mind as you’re facing up to the next ball and you’re not fully concentrating, not fully focused on the ball,” Gavaskar added.
Here’s the video:
https://twitter.com/ChloeAmandaB/status/1367343160708370439
Earlier, England skipper Joe Root won the toss and opted to bat first. The hosts made one change to their lineup as they brought in Siraj for Jasprit Bumrah. On the other hand, England made two changes in their final XI as they brought in Dominic Bess and Dan Lawrence in place of Stuart Broad and Jofra Archer.
