Mumbai: While Virat Kohli was thoughtful in his answers after India clinched the five-match Test against England here on Monday, he made sure that the media personnel present at the press conference had a good laugh with his comment on what really transpired when James Anderson walked out to bat on Day 5 of the Test.
The England pacer, following stumps on Day 4, had taken a dig at Kohli’s technique saying his batting deficiencies were not exposed on the Indian tracks.
While people anticipated Kohli would hit back, it was R Ashwin who had a go at Anderson. The Indian Test skipper, meanwhile, did not have a clue what the England’s wicket-taker said about him.
“For the first time, I was trying to calm things down at a time where he is involved. Ashwin was not pleased with whatever he said in the press conference. Ashwin told me on the ground,” said Kohli.
“Obviously, I had no clue about it. So, I did not know what to make of it. I was just laughing but Ashwin was too impressed. So, he let him (Anderson) know. Not using any bad words, obviously. He told me he was very disappointed with what he said. It is important to accept defeat the way it is and the things like that,” added Kohli.
After India won the Test by an innings and 36 runs, cameras caught Ashwin and Kohli having a chat.
“You know how Ashwin is. To the point, he can really strike you well without using the bad words and that’s exactly what happened,” Kohli continued.
“Later on, I just told James that it is fine. These things happen. So, let’s move on with it,” added the Indian Test skipper after the home team clinched their fifth Test series win in a row.
Kohli also refused to draw himself into a firing line of any sort as he refused to comment on England batsmen’s technique.
"I’m not going to sit here and comment about someone else’s faults. We focus on our strengths, we accept defeat pretty gracefully. We’ve never complained, we always find faults in our game and try to improve that. That’s exactly what we keep doing in every game that we play," said Kohli.
“I am no one or in no position to question someone else’s technique or someone else’s faults. They should understand it themselves and work on it. As international cricketers, it is their responsibility. So, I am not going to sit here and play sarcastic mind games. I want to focus on good cricket and that’s exactly what we’ve done,” concluded Kohli.
