“I don’t know what is wrong with people in this venue” - When Virat Kohli called out the Wankhede crowd for ‘creating hatred’
During the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2013, Virat Kohli expressed disbelief at the Wankhede crowd for their 'hatred' towards the opposition players. Kohli's comments came after Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) suffered a 58-run loss against home team Mumbai Indians at the stadium.
The game saw Mumbai post a staggering 194, with Dwayne Smith (50) leading the charge. However, during the innings, Kohli faced the wrath of fans after his back-to-back runouts of Dinesh Karthik (43) and Ambati Rayudu (0).
Notably, Rayudu was involved in a tangle with RCB bowler, Vinay Kumar. As Kieron Pollard hit the ball towards Kohli at the covers, Rayudu took a start but tried to get back to the non-striker's end after Pollard's refusal. However, during this process, Vinay tried to back away from the stumps to collect the ball from Kohli, with his back towards Rayudu.
Rayudu seemed to have grounded his bat, but as a result of a tangle, it went up in the air when the bails were dislodged, and he was deemed out. After sledging Virat Kohli throughout the game, the Wankhede crowd booed him during the post-match presentation as well. Here's what Kohli said about the incident:
"I don't know what is wrong with people in this venue. It feels a bit weird because at the end of the day you play for India and you don't come here to be hated. It has happened to a few players in the past as well. I don't know why they get so worked up during IPL. IPL is not the end of the world. They forget that the players they are booing for also play for their country." [H/T ESPNcricinfo]
He added:
"It is only creating hatred among the players. When I come back and play for India, they are going to cheer for me. It doesn't work that way."
Virat Kohli's RCB finished fifth in IPL 2013
Virat Kohli was appointed the captain of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru ahead of the 2013 season. In his first season as a captain, Kohli impressed by scoring 634 runs in 16 innings, with six fifties.
However, RCB could only manage to finish fifth in the table with nine wins in 16 league matches. On the other hand, Rohit Sharma was made Mumbai Indians captain mid-way through the season, and he led them to their maiden IPL title. Nevertheless, both star players have been legendary performers in the league.
Virat Kohli is the all-time highest run-scorer in IPL with 8,004 runs in 252 games, and eight centuries. Meanwhile, Sharma is third with 6,628 runs in 257 appearances, with two centuries.