‘Unless the mind is sharp and decisive, the body falters': Ian Chappell on Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli has had a poor 2024 in the red-ball format. While some of it has to be contributed to difficult surfaces that he has played both home and away, a few can be attributed to his weakness outside the off-stump, where he has managed to edge the ball around the fourth stump line more frequently and than ever before in his career. With the big England tour coming up, Kohli decided he will hang up his boots in the longer version of the game. Former Australian cricketer Ian Chappell, in his column, wrote, 'Unless the mind is sharp and decisive, the body falters.'
'He accepted that, at the highest level, unless the mind is sharp and decisive, the body falters. When doubt begins to settle in the bones, it disrupts decision-making, impairs footwork, and erodes the spontaneity essential to elite performance. Kohli's retirement is a reminder that form is more a function of the mind than it is of mechanics,' wrote Chappell in his column on ESPNCricinfo.
'When instinct gives way to hesitation, and confidence turns into caution, it becomes clear that the first place to look is inward. This struggle has been well documented across generations. From Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting to Virat Kohli, Steven Smith and Joe Root, the most revered names in the game have grappled with the invisible weight of expectation and the creeping sense of decline,' he further wrote.
'And yet, many of them have risen again – reminding us that while bodies age, the mind can be retrained, refocused and revived. The path back for older players is rarely through exhaustive technical reconstruction. Rather, it comes from returning to a state of mental clarity, rekindling the thinking of their younger days,' he observed.
'This doesn't mean blind aggression or naive optimism. It means remembering why they succeeded in the first place: trust, intent, and simplicity. The older one gets, the more mental fatigue takes its toll. Years of pressure, expectation and performance drain the brain's ability to focus sharply.
'Add the physical toll and it becomes easy to fall into a cautious, survival-first mindset. That's the trap. The greats who reinvent themselves – like Tendulkar in his second wind, or Sunil Gavaskar in his final flourish – are those who find a way to override the noise,' he concluded.
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Business Standard
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- Business Standard
Bengaluru stampede: Activist lodges police complaint against Virat Kohli
A complaint has been filed against cricketer Virat Kohli at the Cubbon Park Police Station in connection with the June 4 stampede near Bengaluru's Chinnaswamy Stadium that claimed 11 lives and left dozens injured. The complainant, social activist HM Venkatesh, accused Kohli of promoting what he described as "gambling through IPL," alleging it incited the massive crowd that led to the tragedy. Police said the complaint will be considered under the already registered case and examined as part of the ongoing investigation into the incident. In his complaint, social activist HM Venkatesh alleged that the Indian Premier League (IPL) is "not a sport but a gambling that has contaminated the game of cricket." "Virat Kohli of the Bangalore RCB team is the most prominent among those who participated in such gambling and incited people to gather in a specific place and caused this tragedy. Therefore, we request you to please make Virat Kohli and his team members accused in the FIR of this tragedy and take action," Venkatesh stated in his complaint. Meanwhile, a Bengaluru Sessions Court on Friday remanded four individuals, including senior Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) official Nikhil Sosale and three event managers, to 14 days of judicial custody in connection with the stampede. They were arrested in a joint operation by the Cubbon Park police and the Central Crime Branch (CCB) at Kempegowda International Airport in the early hours of June 6 (Friday). Earlier in the day, the Karnataka High Court granted interim relief to the office bearers of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), who had approached the court seeking the quashing of the FIR registered against them in connection with the stampede. In an interim order, the court directed the state police not to take any coercive action against them until further orders. The High Court adjourned the case to June 9. KSCA President Raghu Ram Bhat, Secretary A Shankar, Treasurer ES Jairam, and other KSCA office bearers moved the High Court seeking to quash the FIR. Nikhil Sosale also approached the High Court to challenge his arrest. He claimed that he was arrested without any materials and even before the police had conducted a preliminary enquiry. He has thus sought to declare his arrest as illegal. On Thursday, the Bengaluru police registered an FIR against the RCB franchise, DNA Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., an event management company, and the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) for culpable homicide, illegal assembly, and other serious charges. A day after the stampede that claimed the lives of 11 people, the Karnataka police suspended multiple IPS officers, including the Bengaluru city police Commissioner, B Dayananda. Apart from Dayananda, Additional Commissioner of Police Vikash Kumar Vikash, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Shekhar HT, Assistant Commissioner of Police Balakrishna and Cubbon Park Police Inspector Girish AK were also suspended with immediate effect. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Has Virat Kohli emerged as a convenient scapegoat in the aftermath of the Chinnaswamy Stadium tragedy?
How quickly we turn on our heroes. How zealously we enjoy the process of putting them on a pedestal with painstaking determination, only to pull them down at the first hint of perceived apathy. To say that Virat Kohli has the most frenzied, loyal fanbase across the cricketing world will be no exaggeration. India's former captain is an unquestioned crowd-puller whose cricketing persona resonates with millions. He has carried the hopes and prayers and good wishes of large sections and seldom disappointed, producing one epic after another with staggering regularity. A maiden IPL title, on his 18th attempt with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, ought to have been the icing on the cake. Apart from the World Test Championship trophy which will now never be his, the only glaring absence from his brimful cupboard of silverware was the symbol of supremacy in the IPL. That anomaly was corrected four nights back in Ahmedabad; Kohli himself, as one would expect, was the engine room that drove the RCB charge, finishing the tournament as the third highest run-getter while making those runs with flair and panache and a healthy strike-rate that hadn't always been his staunchest ally. RCB's six-run defeat of Punjab Kings on Tuesday night sent RCBians worldwide into the throes of ecstasy. Impromptu street parties broke out in Bengaluru and ran well into the early hours of Wednesday. Kohli was the toast, understandably; single-handedly for 17 years, he had ensured that the fan base grew in inverse proportion to RCB's on-field accomplishments. There was a sense of vindication, for him, and his and RCB's passionate supporters, when the tape was breasted at long last. Now, Kohli is the object of much scorn and vile abuse on social media, primarily. The social media space is increasingly becoming caustic and nasty, its relative anonymity encouraging keyboard warriors to spew venom without the fear of reprisals and recrimination. In the aftermath of the horrific tragedy outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday evening that swiftly devolved from celebratory to mournful, Kohli has been slammed in certain quarters for not being sensitive enough to the developments outside the venue and for continuing with the celebrations on the outfield of RCB's home base. Different people react differently to catastrophes, there is no template and no one has the right to expect anyone else to behave in the manner in which we want them to. Having oneself been caught bang in the middle of much of the jostling and shoving outside the venue as early as 3 pm, one can say with some confidence that no one who didn't experience that – and we truly are grateful that so many did not – cannot really fathom the rising panic, the thumping heart, the surge of adrenaline and the mode of self-preservation that the subconscious slips into. Kohli might have had something to do with the ungainly haste with which the celebratory events on Wednesday evening were put together in Bengaluru, a little over 15 hours after the title was secured in Ahmedabad, but he certainly wasn't responsible for it. Because of the imminence of the talisman's departure to London, those that saw an opportunity to cash in on being at the forefront of putting the show together showed scant regard for protocol and police advice, choosing to place personal interests ahead of safety and security measures that most certainly would have been in place had the police machinery had greater time to plan and organise an event certain to attract tens of thousands of RCB fans delighted that their long wait had finally come to an end. There has been criticism of Kohli being in the vanguard of the celebrations inside the stadium even after the stampede outside cruelly snuffed out 11 lives (as subsequent revelations confirmed). But anyone who watched the proceedings would have immediately noticed that he was merely going through the motions, that there was neither exuberance nor palpable shows of delight or orchestrating the crowd, such an inimitable Kohli feature. Suggestions that the stadium show ought to have been cancelled in its entirety didn't take into account the fact that the 35,000 people inside were largely unaware of the disaster that had unfolded outside. To have called off the show would most likely have triggered greater unrest and potentially unchecked anger. Because telephone networks were jammed, either by design or otherwise, word of the unspeakable tragedy was not yet common knowledge among those who populated the stands. Without going overboard, Kohli did what he had to under difficult circumstances. To fire salvos at him for alleged indifference doesn't do anyone credit. There were many glaring lapses that catalysed the avoidable cataclysm, but to lay the blame at Kohli's doorstep? Not done.
Hindustan Times
2 hours ago
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‘Our playing careers are over': Oman's 2024 T20 World Cup cricketers still not paid by cricket board, appeal to ICC
Oman cricketers have spoken out against their native cricket board a year on from their appearance at the T20 World Cup in North America and the Caribbean, citing the failure of the board to distribute the prize money achieved by the team in that tournament. As per players who spoke to ESPNcricinfo regarding the matter, the ICC paid the Oman Cricket Board USD 225,000 as the cash prize, but that amount was never transferred to the players. What is more, those who have attempted to try and rectify the situation have seen themselves frozen out of the team, locked out of the picture for the national team. Batter Kashyap Prajapati gave an account of what it has been like to be shunned by his own cricket board. 'Our lives have been upended over this issue; we've lost our spot in the team, our contracts have been torn up, and we have been forced to leave the country,' said the Indian-born Prajapati. 'It's just so confusing and we don't understand why the ICC isn't able to ensure we get paid the prize money we have earned, and why there isn't a safe space for us to raise concerns?' As per the ICC's rules of participation, all prize money earned by teams at events must be distributed to players who are part of the squad, within 21 days of the conclusion of the tournament. The T20 World Cup came to an end in late June 2024, and while the ICC confirmed the prize money has been shared with the board, it is reported no player has been paid. In fact, Oman's squad from the World Cup is almost entirely out of the picture, with a complete overhaul after complaints being raised by players involved at the World Cup. The impact of Oman's decisions cannot be downplayed, with player Fayyaz Butt saying that his journey in cricket might be 'over': 'It's been a massive loss for my career and professionally. I had to leave Oman. I'm not working at the moment, looking for opportunities but our playing careers are over.' The ICC's inability to ensure the safe transfer of funds to players has led to criticism from the World Cricketers' Association, a body for player welfare. 'In a sport that is trying to retain players in international cricket and ensure its future and relevance, it's disappointing to see more non-payment issues, including in pinnacle ICC events held almost a year ago,' said Tom Moffat, CEO of the WCA. 'We understand ICC management have continued to chase the boards on this, but the issue reflects poorly on the whole sport and adds to the widespread issues in domestic leagues.' 'It's also extremely concerning if some players are unable to raise their legitimate issues without fear of being punished for doing so,' added Moffat.
