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Gautam Gambhir not the only head coach Virat Kohli ignored; India star’s cold shoulder to Shukri Conrad emerges – Watch
Virat Kohli totally ignored South Africa head coach Shukri Conrad – for obvious reasons – after India won the 1st ODI in Ranchi.
So what if Virat Kohli isn’t playing for India as much as he used to? So what if Kohli turns up only a few times a year? And so what if he spends more time with his family in London than with the Indian cricket team? He is always in the thick of things. Kohli wasn’t even part of the Indian Test team when South Africa head coach Shukri Conrad's ‘grovel’ remark landed him in hot water. Heck, he hadn’t even landed in India. But judging by the treatment he gave the 58-year-old, it’s safe to say that Kohli follows and knows everything that’s happening around the world of Indian cricket.
As it turns out, Kohli isn’t a fan of the current head coaches of the two teams currently playing the three-match ODI series. Gautam Gambhir wasn’t the only one Kohli ignored. He gave a cold shoulder to Conrad as Team India players walked up the stairs and exchanged pleasantries with the opposition. In a clip that’s now circulating and gaining attention on social media, Kohli can be seen walking straight past Conrad, refusing to acknowledge him. No handshake, no nod of the head. Zilch. It was as if Conrad wasn’t even there.
Watch the clip:
Conrad's 'grovel' controversy
Conrad ruffled a few feathers when, at the end of Day 4 of the second Test in Guwahati, he said, “We really wanted them to grovel”. The Merriam-Webster dictionary explains it as ‘to lie or creep with the body prostrate in token of subservience or abasement’, but its relevance in the cricketing context is a lot more complex and controversial.
Conrad’s comments upset a few followers of Indian cricket. Aakash Chopra, Anil Kumble and Parthiv Patel were outraged while Sunil Gavaskar refused to buy into the theory that it was just a passing jibe, calling the remark ill-advised and even demanding an apology. When Temba Bavuma was asked about the comment, the South Africa captain turned the tables and reminded the world about Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant’s ‘Bauna’ saga during the Kolkata Test. “A line has been crossed,” he had said.
