The debate over the decision of Indian skipper Virat Kohli to return home after the first friendly against Australia to attend the birth of his and the Bollywood actor and wife Anushka Sharma’s first child became hot again on social media after veteran cricketer commentator Sunil Gavaskar had written a column in Sports star.
Pointing out that there is a rift in the Indian cricket team, Gavaskar said that bowlers like Ravichandran Ashwin pause if they don’t pick “piles of wickets” in a game while the established batsmen on the team have it easy and still have chances on chances get their failure.
The veteran opener added that after giving birth to his daughter, newcomer T Natarajan was “forced” to stay behind as a net bowler following brilliant performances in limited overs cricket.
“A match winner, albeit in a different format, is asked to be a net bowler. So he won’t return home until the end of the series in the third week of January and then see his daughter for the first time. And there is the captain.” goes back to the first test for the birth of his first child. That’s Indian cricket. Different rules for different people. If you don’t believe me, ask Ravi Ashwin and T. Natarajan, “wrote Gavaskar.
Gavaskar’s column and certain of Captain Kohli’s digs were met with disagreement on Twitter. Many wondered whether the cricket expert chose the captain “unnecessarily”.
“Disagrees with Gavaskar. Nobody is forcing Natarajan to roll in the nets. He realizes that it’s a stepping stone for him. Kohli’s decision to return is a personal choice. Cricket is his job, part of life, not all.” Life. If that makes him unable to play, fire him for sure, “wrote a Twitter user.
With all due respect to Gavaskar, Kohli has the same stature as Sachin Tendulkar in World Cricket, and he is an automatic pick whenever he’s available. Did he have the courage to question Sachin after he unsubscribed from several international series? ? #Natarajan https://t.co/U96qCP6yYb
– Satish (@perfect_indian) December 24, 2020
Mit-Mumbaikar, Rohit Sharma, missed a friendly in Australia for the same reason as Kohli. Has Mr Gavaskar asked him or the BCCI rules? 😛 It’s pure hatred. It’s a unique situation. The quarantine rules in Aus have made it a longer breakhttps: //t.co/KAQRTpo4ne
– Satish (@perfect_indian) December 24, 2020
Disagree with Gavaskar. Nobody is forcing Natarajan to roll in the nets. He realizes that it is a stepping stone for him. Kohli deciding to return is a personal choice. Cricket is his job, part of life, not all of his life. If that puts him out of play, fire him. https://t.co/cr1QUw3kGc
– Kartikeya Tanna (@KartikeyaTanna) December 24, 2020
Abey kohli ne 5 months pahele apply kiya tha Natarajan naya hai usko carrier banana hai kohli ka bana hua hai. Pagal hai kya gavaskar
– Raj Thakar (@ RajThak43420624) December 24, 2020
Sunil Gavaskar may be a legend, but he nudges Kohli every time he’s angry. Let this man live peacefully, Lord God. And why should he pull Ash and Nattu?
– M✿ (@mxriaxoxo_) December 24, 2020
What rubbish is Sunil Gavaskar talking about … he doesn’t know, Rohit Sharma had also come home for the birth of his child … always aimed unnecessarily at Kohli
– Jason Dsouza (@jdnats) December 24, 2020
Rather than blaming Kohli, Gavaskar should have asked the BCCI to institutionalize paternal leave for all players so that new players can take it without feeling unsure of their place. If all other professions allow paternity leave, why not professional cricket?
– Venky (@venkybengaluru) December 24, 2020
Nobody forced Natarajan to stay on the team. It’s an individual thing. Why is Sunil Gavaskar asking this question to Sir now? Why didn’t he ask the same question 2 years ago when Mumbaikar Rohit Sharma took paternity leave … why now just fuss about Kohli.
– Shivuvirat (@shivuvirat) December 23, 2020
However, many praised Gavaskar for making his point bluntly. Cricket fans believed that Kohli should remain the front runner especially after the humiliating defeat to the Aussies at the Adelaide Oval.
Yes, Mr. Gavaskar is right. Kohli, returning to have his first child, is emotional, a lot of current players are. However, given the loss we had in the first test, he should have stayed with the team and helped improve the series.
– Naveen Shandilya (@ShandilyaNaveen) December 24, 2020
Every now and then Gavaskar speaks bluntly and boldly. One of the few that still do. Even Kapil Dev plays it safe. High time Kohli is fired as LOI skipper and Rohit is brought in as soon as possible. Can’t afford any more losses.
– కార్తిక్ (@karthiknyc) December 24, 2020
I think Sunil Gavaskar is right about what they wrote about in Katarajan and Virat Kohli. In the Indian team, the rules and hands vary between different people or players
– Palak Parashar (@ PalakParashar5) December 24, 2020
Personal preferences, but Gavaskar is 200% right. Natarajan stays as a net bowler to serve his country without seeing his daughter for months, but Kohli skips 3 tests if he’s the main batsman for us. https://t.co/70G6zY0ufV
– (@KodelaDeepak) December 24, 2020
Meanwhile, a day before the ODI clash, Kohli made his stance very clear about why he decided to return home to be with Anushka.
“I’ll fly back after the first test, and that was based solely on the fact that we have a quarantine period in both directions, and I explained this to the selectors during our selection meeting,” Kohli said in a virtual conference, a video of which was from the BCCI shared on Twitter.
“I wanted to be home in time to be with my wife for the birth of our first child. It is a very special and very beautiful moment in our life and something I really want to experience,” said the skipper, before adding “That was the reason for my decision, which was communicated to the selectors during the selection meeting.”