Kohli was silly and disrespectful, feels Johnson

Agencies
December 19, 2018

Perth, Dec 19: Former Australian pacer Mitchell Johnson slammed India captain Virat Kohli, describing his behaviour as "disrespectful" and "silly" during the second Test here.

Kohli and Australia captain Tim Paine were involved in a series of heated exchanges, which at one point prompted umpire Chris Gaffaney to step in to dissolve the tension.

However, once the second Test ended with Australia beating India by 146 runs, both the captains played down the issue, saying no line was crossed.

But Johnson was extremely critical of Kohli's behaviour during the Test.

"At the end of the match, you should be able to look each other in the eyes, shake hands and say 'great contest'," he wrote in a column for Fox Sports.

"Virat Kohli could not do that with Tim Paine, shaking the Australian captain's hand but barely making eye contact with him. To me, that is disrespectful.

"Kohli gets away with more than most cricketers simply because he is Virat Kohli and he gets placed on a pedestal but this Test left the Indian captain looking silly," he wrote.

BCCI on Tuesday came out in support of Kohli, rubbishing media reports in Australia which claimed that Kohli had bragged about being the best batsman in the world while ridiculing Paine as a "stand-in captain".

Johnson said that Kohli didn't his keep words after making pre-series claims that he won't initiate any confrontations.

"Kohli has contradicted the things he said at the start of the series. He said he was a changed person - that he was coming in with a different attitude to last time and wasn't going to initiate anything. What we saw this Test says otherwise," he wrote.

"From my experiences with him and what I am seeing as an observer now, not much has changed. It was disappointing and that is not the only area where he let himself down."

Kohli scored a sparkling 123 in the first innings before being dismissed in a controversial fashion following a contentious catch at slip by Peter Handscomb.

Johnson was offended with Kohli for not acknowledging the standing ovation at Perth stadium after his dismissal.

"To me the catch was given out so you accept it and move on and as a player who has scored a hundred you acknowledge the standing ovation," he said.

Johnson and Kohli had a fiery relationship after the 2014 Melbourne Test where the pacer's throw had hit Kohli during his attempt to get the batsman run out.

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News Network
March 22,2024

IPL.jpg

The start of the world’s most lucrative cricket tournament in India is presenting investors with another big opportunity to cash in on the sport, months after the world’s most populous nation hosted the Cricket World Cup.

The eight-week long Indian Premier League begins March 22 for its 17th season. Since its inception, the fast-paced cricket tournament has become a corporate juggernaut to rival the National Football League in the US and the English Premier League in value.

Just as October’s Cricket World Cup boosted consumption in India for months, fans are expected to flock to restaurants, pubs and food delivery platforms over the duration of the tournament. This year’s IPL also coincides with general elections that will last for six weeks starting April 19, a period when companies are expecting higher food and drink sales as people flock to rallies and other events.

“There’s going to be a lot of spending,” said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Bank of Baroda. “IPL, as well as the election, gives a three-month corridor with enhanced economic activity.”

Stocks in India such as McDonald’s franchise operator Westlife Foodworld Ltd. and peer Sapphire Foods India Ltd. gained ahead of the first match on Friday, as well as hotels and beverage makers. Packaged-food companies could also stand to benefit from the IPL craze, said Sachil Bobade, an analyst at investment firm Dolat Capital Market.

The IPL ecosystem was valued at $11 billion (Rs 91,721 crores) in 2023, including the value of media rights and sponsorships, according to Indian valuation consulting firm D&P Advisory.

The league is also attracting record sums of money from sponsors and broadcasters. Conglomerate Tata Group won the title sponsorship rights of the tournament in January for a record 25 billion rupees ($300 million). Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s media venture secured the digital streaming rights in 2022 for five years for $2.7 billion, while Walt Disney Co. paid roughly the same for TV rights.

“There was a serious amount of bidding even this year,” said Vinit Karnik, head of entertainment, esports and sports at media agency GroupM South Asia. “I see growth in IPL in double digits year-on-year,” he adds.

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