Team India skipper Virat Kohli might find himself on the receiving end of criticism but not for getting out for a duck in the first Test at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Kohli was seen chewing gum when India’s national anthem was being played, which might create a few problems for him on social media. Before Kohli, Parvez Rasool faced nationwide criticism for chewing gum during the national anthem earlier this year. The incident happened in January 2017 in a T20I match against England at Green Park, Kanpur.
Here’s the video of Kohli chewing gum during National Anthem –
— cricket (@84107010ghwj) November 16, 2017
Here’s the video of a similar incident by the Kashmiri off-spinner –
#parvezrasool chewing gum when national anthem ws played@TarekFatah @AskAnshul @AsYouNotWish @rishibagree @mahesh10816 @Jaishankar_Sing pic.twitter.com/t1wwvEFjS0
— Swapnil Kumar (@raju2k84) January 26, 2017
After the incident, Rasool talked to a local television channel.
Let cricketers play cricket and don’t involve them into politics unnecessarily. I try to keep my focus on the game and don’t let these controversies affect me. It is already very difficult for cricketers from our region to make it into the national team and when these things happen it is very disheartening. One has to remain tough and should not give importance to such controversies.
The first Test witnessed a delayed start as rains kept interrupting the play. The rain threats followed by bad light at the Eden Gardens forced players to march back and forth between the dressing room and the ground. Kohli also recorded his first duck at Eden Gardens in Test cricket as he got out to Suranga Lakmal. The 29-year-old called for a review but the decision could not be reversed.
