Why do Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir get away with boorish behaviour all the time?

It’s the end of decency and the death of decency – privilege cricket will soon not resemble the sport once played by the men in the white flannel. If cricket were a person, he would have filed for dismissal from T20 cricket.

The scenes that unfolded after that rough-and-tumble game – the horrendous abusive argument between Gambhir and Kohli which was merely one push or one push away from it devolved into a mass brawl – confirmed IPL’s reputation as cricket’s recalcitrant spring errant. It was also a new low for the world’s great T20 event. This was worse than Harbhajan slapping Srisanth, and here were two captains acting like tennis ball cricketers engaged in a ‘winner takes all’ weekend game in some West Delhi park, a corner of a crowded square in Mumbai, Kolkata Bara or Chennai. School complex.

Dirty or boyish?

Their behavior was more suited to a game without real referees, no television cameras, no role model XI players, and no one with a reputation to protect. Two adults, both fathers, one an MP and the other the world’s biggest cricket star – they can only be seen in public rocking peacemakers around them and scurrying towards each other like lorry drivers besieged by road rage.

Since both Kohli and Gambhir are brands that also have an army of followers on social media—the former wins the race—their PR machinery was on its way to the limit. Spin-Doctors, in-house content generators and agile cricket commentators are tasked with damage control tasks. But this is difficult to implement. The visuals are very powerful and way too much. When you’re in a stadium full of cameras; You can’t process tapes, escape blame, or take any high moral stance. Once in the mud pit you can claim you have less dirt but still be taken to the cleaners. By issuing the same punishment to both, the referee of the match, one who is aware of all the facts, gave equal importance to both indiscretions.

(L to R) Lucknow Super Giants coach Gautam Gambhir, Lucknow Super Giants player Naveen-ul Haq and Royal Challengers Bangalore player Virat Kohli.

When the feud was shown live to the world – interestingly enough, a broadcaster known historically for canceling anything that vilifies the IPL didn’t ask their cameras to look away – Anil Kumble was on air. He saw Kohli and Gambier closely, and said, “It’s unacceptable. Whatever it is, you have to respect the opposition. You have to respect the game,” he said.

Virender Sehwag is not known for his versatility. It is most appropriate to talk about this issue. Like Gambhir and Kohli, he has also done the tough sweeps in the brutally competitive Delhi circuit. Swag grew up in Najafgarh, the badlands on the outskirts of Delhi. On a cricket field, he saw and heard it all. So when Sehwag says he was shocked by the behavior of his colleagues in Delhi and India, it is a red flag for BCCI.

Sehwag is now the father of a budding cricketer. Ariaveer was in the Delhi U-16 team. He would have witnessed the Gambhir racket with his father, he would have dreamed of having a Kohli-like career. Sehwag was worried about the effect the ugly optics would have on young people.

“My children can read lips and they understand very well Ben Stokes (the most abusive Indian word rhymes with the names of an English cricketer). That’s when I feel bad. If you say such things, if my children can read it, then others can too and tomorrow they will think it If they (Kohli and Gambhir) can say it, so can I,” he said on Cricbuzz.

once upon a time..

Kohli and Gambhir should have known better, they should have settled their grudges in a more dignified manner. The two go back a long way. In 2006, when Kohli played his first match for Delhi, Gambhir was the eldest. As is the custom in the Delhi dressing room, Gambhir was Kohli’s ‘bhaiya’. In Kotla, youngsters are usually given nicknames that would capture their appearance. All thanks to his chubby cheeks, Kohli was named Cheeku, the comic book bunny popular among children of the era.

Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir were involved in a brawl on the floor. (screen grab)

Two years later, Gautam Bhaiya and Chico would be India’s first players, and were in the 2011 World Cup winning team. Then, with age catching up and reflexes slowing, Gambhir’s career was waning. This was the time during the Dhoni era, when the elders were treated as a burden and the younger ones pressed their claim to replace them. Gambhir, a one-time captaincy candidate, would have a lukewarm end to his international career.

On the other hand, Cheeku shares will go up. He will climb new heights, break barriers, and break records. From the heir apparent, he will be India’s most successful cricket captain till the time he quit cricket in 2021.

Meanwhile, Gambhir won two titles with KKR, a feat Kohli has yet to achieve. He would enter politics, be the BJP candidate from East Delhi, and enter Parliament with a landslide victory by a margin of about 7,00,000 votes. Gambhir’s batting numbers can’t compare to Kohli’s, but fans appreciate his body of work, and remember the game-changing two strikes in the two World Cups India won this century. Kohli’s performance in the crucial play-or-die ICC games is not very flattering.

Off the field they are contradictory personalities. Kohli can talk, shrug his leg and shake his leg with Bollywood. It’s a marketing man’s dream, a complete package, invaluable to global brands. He is also the life of the locker room, who manipulates his teammates. Gambier is a natural leader, he is not averse to expressing conflicting points of view, he is tactically straightforward and sharp. But it’s more serious and reserved and despite the KKR owner’s repeated attempts to teach his leader and teacher to dance, it never quite hits the ground running.

Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir after the match. (Twitter/LucknowIPL)

Recently, Kohli spoke about calmness, coherence, and turning over a new leaf. It’s clearly a work in progress. Gambier’s time as a politician did not make him understand the nuances of parliamentary behaviour. Jealousy and self-superiority are seen as the reason they have repeatedly locked horns in public over the past 10 years. This is just a wild guess, an easy uneducated reasoning for those who aren’t informed. The answer may be hidden in the reaction of the authorities, the public and those close to them.

Insufficient blame

So how has the world reacted to the foolish behavior of the country’s sporting icons?

BCCI cut 100 percent of the match fee, the rationale being that the financial loss might prevent them from repeating their dishonorable act. For cricketers with deep pockets, this is just a friendly tap on their knuckles. It is also likely that the franchisee will end up paying the fine.

Fans weren’t too angry either. Since that infamy-filled night, New Age opinion-makers—comics and content creators—have been raving for more, making the bizarre act just a joke. Reality TV and OTT platforms have spread hate.

Peace advocates are also not convincing. Ravi Shastri volunteered to sit across the table with Gambhir and Kohli. This is not a new fight, didn’t Shastri have enough pickets with Kohli during his long tenure as India coach? It obviously didn’t help.

The real reason these two hotheads had repeated rip-offs was because they were allowed to get away with their bad behavior all the time.

Send your feedback to sandydwivedi@gmail.com