Test cricket has always brought out an individual's competitiveness and former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar has asked critics to cut the Indian skipper Virat Kohli some 'slack'. Kohli was recently under heavy scrutiny after is on-field verbal spat with Australia skipper Tim Paine.
Kohli and Australian skipper Tim Paine clashed on several occasions during the second Test in Perth which India lost by 146 runs. Their exchanges have been perceived differently everywhere.
The BCCI and Cricket Australia have been quick to douse the fire by saying that the banter was civil but some former Indian and Australian cricketers criticised Kohli's aggression.
@imVkohli is one of the modern greats of the game. Aggression has been a part & parcel of competitive cricket, specially when you are playing Down Under as long as it stays in limit. Please cut him some slack.
https://twitter.com/shoaib100mph/status/1075787060433350657
Recently, Former Australia captain Allan Border also defended Kohli's aggression, saying cricket needs characters like the Indian skipper who exude passion on the field.
"There's not many characters in our game at the moment. The professional era has sort of beaten that out to a certain degree," Border said on Fox Cricket's podcast -- The Follow-on.
"I haven't seen anyone sort of carrying on so much as a captain when his side takes a wicket. It's really over the top but it's good in a way. You can see some passion about what he's trying to do," Border said.
Kohli has received severe criticism from the likes of Mike Hussey, Mitchell Johnson and Sanjay Manjrekar for his aggressive celebrations in the ongoing Test series in Australia.
