Ravi Shastri Defends Virat Kohli’s on-field Antics Ahead of Boxing Day Test at MCG, Says ‘He is an Absolute Gentleman’

Apart from his class innings in Australia, Virat Kohli has been in the news for his on-field behaviour. While many Australian players are blasting out at the Indian cricket captain for his on-field banter with Tim Paine and others, Ravi Shastri, defended Kohli’s behaviour while addressing the press ahead of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG. Shastri went on to say that there is nothing wrong with Kohli’s attitude and he has been an absolute gentleman. Ravichandran Ashwin Remains Doubtful for Third Test Against Australia at Melbourne, Says Ravi Shastri.

“He was fantastic. What is wrong with his behaviour? Of course, you can question but as far as we are concerned, he is an absolute gentleman," Shastri said. While speaking to the media he also spoke about the threat looming over Ravichandran Ashwin’s fitness. "As far as Ashwin is concerned, we are going to take a look and evaluate over the next 48 hours. Rohit Sharma looks good, he has made a very good improvement. But then again, we have to see how he pulls up tomorrow. He looks good as of today. Pandya is fit,” explained Shastri.

The Indian cricket coach also revealed the reasons of Ravindra Jadeja not being a part of the playing XI during the second Test match in Perth. He went to say that Jadeja has a stiff shoulder and had taken four injections before coming to Perth. “So when you look at Perth, he was around 70-80 % fit and we didn't want to take that risk,” said Shastri.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 23, 2018 01:56 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).