"We Played Like Gentlemen...": 1983 WC-Winning Star On Kohli-Konstas Row

There has been a lot of debate regarding the altercation between Virat Kohli and Sam Konstas that took place on Day 1 of the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). The 1983 World Cup-winning wicket-keeper Syed Kirmani has given his take on the latest controversy, claiming the current crop of cricketers have a ‘cannot-take-it-lying-down' attitude. The altercation occurred during a gripping session of play when Konstas was in the midst of an impressive innings and Kohli bumped into the 19-year-old in between overs. “We played like gentlemen. Having said that, it's not that our cricketers are not playing like gentlemen. It is a matter of retaliation. Now, the attitude, and the application is changed. Now, we cannot take it lying down. We have to retaliate,” Kirmani told IANS.

Kohli was charged under Article 2.12 of the ICC Code of Conduct, which pertains to "inappropriate physical contact with a Player, Player Support Personnel, Umpire, Match Referee or any other person (including a spectator during an International Match).” The Indian batter accepted the charges, negating the need for a formal hearing.

“This is the new attitude of the players of the current era of cricketers. In our time, there was sledging. We never retaliated. We just turned around and showed our backs. You see, the retaliation, the sledging and all that, you know, is just to distract the concentration of the players, particularly when you are batting, when a great batsman has come in when he is playing a great knock,” he added.

The 1983 World Cup winner has released an autobiography ‘Stumped', giving insider details on what was one of the greatest achievements in world cricket. The 74-year-old Kirmani claims that India's maiden World Cup triumph has fuelled the current generation's dreams and laid the foundation for the BCCI to become one of the strongest and wealthiest boards in the world.

“If I say that winning the World Cup was most unexpected, we did not expect to make it to qualify for the knockout stages. We made the impossible possible. The foundation we built in 1983, the current era of cricketers and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), has reaped from it," added Kirmani.