10 Controversial moments in Virat Kohli's career

Virat Kohli has been the poster boy of Indian cricket for more than a decade now. The Indian skipper has established himself as one of the greatest batsmen of the modern era. Kohli has scored 22937 runs in international cricket and has also plundered 70 hundreds as well.

Apart from his batting prowess, Kohli has also grabbed the limelight for his behaviour on and off the field as well. Kohli is a cricketer who wears his heart on his sleeve and does not hesitate to have a go at the opposition players.

And, through the course of his illustrious career, there have been several occasions when Kohli has grabbed the limelight and courted controversy. In this article, let us take a look at the top 10 controversies of Virat Kohli’s career.

10. Mitchell Johnson and Virat Kohli have a go at each other

When India toured Australia in 2014, the hopes of the Indian cricket fans hinged on Virat Kohli. Kohli was touted as the successor to Sachin Tendulkar, and fans expected the Indian batting talisman to step up against the Aussies. Kohli had experienced a poor outing in England earlier in the year and was itching to prove his naysayers wrong when he stepped onto the field in the land of the kangaroos.

The master batsman scored 4 centuries in that series and was in top form with the willow. But then, apart from his prowess with the willow, Kohli’s altercations with Australian pacer Mitchell Johnson in the third Test match at Melbourne also grabbed the limelight. The Australian pacer had hit Kohli hard with a throw off his own bowling, and the Indian captain was clearly not impressed with it.

Johnson then bowled a delivery outside off stump, the Indian batsman went hard at it, the ball took the outside edge and flew past slip. And, after the boundary, both Johnson and Kohli were seen having a go at each other. Kohli then proceeded to smash Johnson. Whenever the left-arm pacer bowled short, Kohli took him to the cleaners. He then played a gorgeous cover drive off Johnson, and the war of words between the two continued.

Johnson finally dismissed Kohli for a masterly 169. This face-off with Johnson was evidence of the fact that Kohli is a fighter, and will not get bogged down when someone takes the fight to him.