MUMBAI: Virat Kohli is an angry young man. Why? Because he was booed by the Wankhede crowd during the presentation ceremony after the game between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore, on Saturday.
Was the 58-run thumping his side, RCB suffered, the reason for the smoke coming out of his ears?
Here's what happened. Kohli was booed by the fans after MI batsman Ambati Rayudu was run out amidst controversial circumstances. Rayudu seemed to have grounded his bat before it went in the air when he collided with bowler Vinay Kumar. It was at this time that a direct hit from Kohli hit the stumps. The visitors asked for the third umpire's decision, which went in their favour. This agitated the crowd and they booed Kohli calling him a "cheat".
If one goes back in time, a similar incident involving Sachin Tendulkar and Shoaib Akhtar at the Eden Gardens in the Asian Test Championship against Pakistan in February 1999, had caused a riot and Tendulkar had to come out and walk around the ground to pacify the crowd before the match could be completed.
Kohli seemed to be at a loss for words when asked to explain the reaction of the crowd. "I don't know why they get so worked up during IPL. IPL is not the end of the world. And they forget that the players they are booing for also play for their country. It is only creating hatred among the players. When I come back and play for India, they are going to cheer for me. It doesn't work that way. You come to Bangalore and you see how Indian players are appreciated," he added.
What Kohli seems to conveniently forget is the fact that Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir too was booed by the Bangalore crowd after he and Kohli had infamously clashed in the contest played in the Garden City on April 11.
The Wankhede crowd has drawn the ire of Yuvraj Singh too during the first edition of the tournament in 2008. Yuvraj, who was leading Kings XI back then, had engineered a dramatic run out off the last ball to help his team to a one-run win over Mumbai Indians. "Don't forget, some of the boys in my team also play for India," was what he had said at the post-match presentation.
Interestingly, while both Kohli and Yuvraj are reaping the benefits of franchise-based T20 cricket, where inter-city rivalry is at its peak, both don't want to bear the barbs of the away crowds when they turn up for their respective teams.
Hostile home crowds add to the atmosphere and theatre of any sport.
Doesn't Wayne Rooney get jeered at Everton when he plays for Manchester United? Arsenal's Jack Wilshere also gets taunted at Old Trafford. Xavi gets heckled by the Madrid fans at the Bernabeu and Ramos is subjected to the choicest of abuse at Camp Nou when he tackles Messi.
It's only when you have the pedigree of a MS Dhoni, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar or an Anil Kumble that the crowd forgets who it is cheering for. These men have the tendency of keeping the crowds on their side because they have always behaved graciously on the cricket field. While Kohli is on the fast track to superstardom, he is still a fair distance away from having the aura that the above gentlemen have around them.
Kohli could also do with a little bit of reality check. The audiences in Sydney heckled him when he raised the middle finger to the gallery there. He was also involved in a scuffle with the photographers, in Nagpur, in 2009, when told to knock elsewhere. Clearly, these are signs of a player who is always on the boil and is looking to explode.
For a man who is earmarked to lead India after MS Dhoni, he could do with a crash course on how to keep one's cool.
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