Brad Hodge apologises to Virat Kohli over shoulder injury jibe - Hindustan Times
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Brad Hodge apologises to Virat Kohli over shoulder injury jibe

Mumbai | ByReuters
Mar 30, 2017 12:29 PM IST

Former Australia player Brad Hodge, who is the Gujarat Lions coach in the Indian Premier League (IPL), suggested that Virat Kohli might have opted to sit out of the deciding Test in Dharamsala to get himself ready for the upcoming IPL season

Former Australia batsman Brad Hodge has apologised to Virat Kohli for comments suggesting the India captain missed the fourth Test in Dharamsala to rest his injured shoulder ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign, starting next week.

Virat Kohli, India captain, suffered a shoulder injury during the third India vs Australia Test in Ranchi.(AFP)
Virat Kohli, India captain, suffered a shoulder injury during the third India vs Australia Test in Ranchi.(AFP)

Hodge was heavily criticised in India for his comments and opted to address the situation on social media.

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“I take this opportunity to apologise to the people of India, cricket fans, the Indian national cricket team and particularly Virat Kohli for my previous comments,” Hodge said in a lengthy apology on his verified Twitter account.

“My intention was never to harm, criticise or be derogatory toward anyone. They were intended to be light-hearted comments with the utmost respect to the Indian Premier League which I have thoroughly enjoyed through the years.

“The public and fans have every right to be upset, and the backlash I have received has certainly driven this home.”

Kohli was ruled out on the morning of the series-decider against Australia after failing to recover from the injury he sustained in the third test in Ranchi, leaving Ajinkya Rahane to lead India to an eight-wicket victory.

Read | Virat Kohli didn’t feign injury to play IPL: Gautam Gambhir slams Brad Hodge

“You would think that your captain would get out there and get amongst the fight and get in there,” Hodge, who will coach the Gujarat franchise in the IPL, told Fox Sports while discussing Kohli’s absence from the crunch clash.

“You’d hope as a sportsman that he’s seriously injured.

“Because if you miss one game of test match cricket and you’re fronting up the next week for RCB (Royal Challengers Bangalore) versus whoever... you’d be pretty dirty if he didn’t front up to a test match and try and win a valuable series against Australia.”

The 28-year-old Kohli said on Tuesday that it would take him a few weeks to be 100 percent fit. He leads the Bangalore side but is likely to miss the start of the IPL when his team take on defending champions Hyderabad on Wednesday.

The hard-fought series between the world’s top two sides also witnessed plenty of on-field acrimony, with Kohli declaring that his friendship with Australia’s cricketers was over.

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