"Exactly how you should play high-level sport" - Michael Vaughan lauds Virat Kohli's aggressive approach to cricket
Former England captain Michael Vaughan claimed Virat Kohli's India had handled the on-field tension better than their English counterparts during the second Test. Emotions were raging towards the end of the Lord's Test match which ended in India's favor and gave them a 1-0 lead in the process.
Vaughan felt that Virat Kohli had brought some of the tension on himself to remain in the spotlight, more so since he has not been scoring runs of late. When asked which team has handled the tensions well, Vaughan had no hesitation in admitting that India dealt with the situation better.
Speaking to Cricbuzz, he said:
"India, no question. Sometimes Virat Kohli brings in the tension on himself, you know he likes the spotlight on himself, he's not getting the runs at the minute so the spotlight is still on Virat Kohli because of the way he acts, the way that he gets the team going."
Despite all of that, Vaughan lavished praise on Kohli and his attacking brand of cricket. He particularly emphasized the Indian skipper's speech in the huddle right before the commencement of the fourth innings at Lord's. Kohli was seen rallying the troops in a fiery speech where he wanted his teammates to make the remaining two sessions on Day 5 hell for the English batsmen. Vaughan added:
"I thought his speech, of him, saying to his fielders and his team on that last day at Lord's, 'make it hell for 60 overs, I don't want you smiling at the England players' - it's the best message and it's exactly how you should play high-level sport. You're up against an England side in their own backyard, give them nothing. You know, why would you smile at them, why would you be nice to them on the pitch. Off the field, shake hands do whatever you wish."
I sometimes think cricket has gone quite friendly these days: Michael Vaughan
On that note, Michael Vaughan explained how he feels that the introduction of franchise cricket has made the game very friendly. The former captain spoke of how he likes to see the aggressive side of the sport. He explained:
"I do look at Test cricket, cricket, in general, I sometimes think it has gone quite friendly these days because they all play in these franchise teams around the world, they all know each other a lot more than we did in our days. I like a bit of heat and so far the Indian side have coped with the heat better than the England side."
This was an observation also made in the limited-overs series when India toured Australia last year. The players had friendly interactions on the pitch, which was called out by several former cricketers.