Dear Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir,
You know two of you are being very highly adorned cricketers. Probably a few of the exquisite lot that India has to offer. But what went down yesterday, well I have seen domestic cricketers pulling off a better stunt than that.
I mean, come on, you two were a crucial part of that grand finale at Wankhede 12 years ago. When India lost the likes of Sehwag and Sachin early in the game, it was you two who stabilized the Indian ship against the might of Malinga, Perera, Dilshan and Muralitharan.
Gauti, you gave away your Player of the Match award to Virat for his phenomenal performance, a feat that showed how magnanimous you were in terms of being one of the finest blokes to have walked the cricketing fabric of India. In an interview with Gaurav Kapoor on his podcast, 22 yarns, Robin Uthappa said how wonderful it was for a player to play under your leadership. And this is what it has all boiled down to?
Virat Kohli, you are the epitome of Indian cricket in the modern days. There is no parallel for you across the cricketing fabric in the Indian threads and mostly across the world too. You are competing with the God of Indian cricket to climb to the topmost rung of the same and this is how you want to achieve it?
Had it been an Australian bowler sledging head on against you, it could still have been accepted and why not? Because we all stand together. But then this was your very own. Maybe its always not necessary to replicate what one did to you. You know your place Virat and if someone can even come close to Tendulkar it is you.
However, remember this, Sachin isn’t only about all those runs and centuries. He is a personality that is respected all across the globe. From signing Brad Hogg’s extended ball to not getting out to him ever again, Sachin bossed the bowlers like none other.
Guys, emotions are good and wearing your heart on your sleeves is good too. But both of you are trail blazers. Both of you are professionals. Do not carry on things what you did yesterday because at the end of it all, the fans would squeeze all sorts of entertainment from the tiff but you two would probably be going down in the eyes of their respect.
Yours sincerely,
A hurt cricket fan
