Don’t follow ‘outrageous’ Virat Kohli blindly, Rahul Dravid tells youngsters

NEW DELHI: Indian team skipper Virat Kohli is fast piling up records in the world cricket as he recently became the fastest to reach 9000 ODI runs, but some batting greats of India are seemingly not happy with the behaviour of the ace batsman.

Despite all feats and achievements, Kohli comes across as an outrageous and aggressive person, Rahul Dravid said in a statement.

“People ask me why I didn’t behave like Virat when I played for India. I would have been inauthentic to myself had I gotten tattoos and behaved like Virat. Sometimes, before an Australia series, Virat says the most outrageous things. I read it in the newspaper and cringe.”

The 28-year-old broke AB de Villiers’ record of being the fastest cricketer to reach the milestone, with the South African taking 205 innings.

Kohli also brought up his 32nd ODI ton and became the first captain to smash six tons in a calendar year.

But 44-year-old Dravid  says that Kohli’s pre-match statements made him cringe at times.

Although Dravid admitted that he can never be like Kohli with tattoos, he also defended the Indian captain by saying that a little bit of aggression is also needed on the pitch. He said,”We want a little bit of lip on the field.”

Recently, Anil Kumble was also at the centre of controversy after Kohli reportedly confronted him in team selection and other related matters.

The spat eventually led to Kumble’s exit from as a head coach and Dravid in his statement also resented the way veteran Indian leg spinner was shown the door.