‘Put Your Head Down and Go Back to the Dressing Room’ – Virender Sehwag Slams Virat Kohli for Misbehaving with Umpires

Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag has criticized Virat Kohli for his behavior with the on-field umpire during the recent IPL 2024 match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.

Kohli was given out on a high full toss bowled by Harshit Rana, but he believed it was a no-ball. However, upon review, the third umpire ruled it as a fair delivery, leading to Kohli’s dismissal.

The ex-RCB captain was visibly unhappy with the decision and had a heated argument with the umpires, resulting in a 50% fine of his match fees by the BCCI for breaching the code of conduct.

Later, the broadcasting channel clarified that Kohli was fairly given out as the ball was dipping below his waistline while he was standing outside the popping crease, which made it a fair delivery according to the rules.

Here’s what Virender Sehwag said on The Club Prairie Fire:

“It is not a question of whether he was given out or not, or whether it was a no-ball or a fair delivery. Virat Kohli should respect the umpire. Once you’ve been given out, you should put your head down and walk back to the dressing room.”

‘Sachin Tendulkar Used to Get a Lot of Unfair Decisions’ – Virender Sehwag

Virender Sehwag further stated that this is something he has learned from the legendary Sachin Tendulkar. He also mentioned that on many occasions, Sachin Tendulkar was unfairly given out when he was actually not out, but he always respected the umpire’s decision.

“Arguing with umpires is not acceptable. He has the right to discuss things with the umpires, but what he did was not right. This is what I learned from Sachin Tendulkar. He never said anything to the umpires despite being given wrong decisions on many occasions during his career.”

“There have been times when Virat Kohli was given out but was not out according to the umpires. There were also occasions when he was not out but was given out by the umpires. That’s a human error, and everyone makes mistakes. You can’t change the umpire’s decision, and the best thing is to accept it and move on,” Virender Sehwag added.

The cricket community was split in their opinion on Virat Kohli’s dismissal, with some seeing it as a fair delivery, while others like Navjot Singh Sidhu, Mohammad Kaif argued it was an unfair decision against Virat Kohli.