'It all seemed a bit childish to me' - Graeme Swann opens up on Virat Kohli-Ben Stokes brawl

Graeme Swann called out Indian captain Virat Kohli’s behaviour as ‘childish’ after he had a clash with England all-rounder Ben Stokes during the first day of the fourth Test in Ahmedabad. The two have previously had a war of words whenever they have played against each other. However, this was the first time the two were seen having a word in this series in the middle.

The on-field umpire had to intervene while the two players had a chat in the middle of the pitch. Former England spinner Swann who was in the commentary box at the time seemed to have blamed Kohli for the incident. He said that Kohli was ‘butting in’ to Stokes’ while he was having a word with his teammate Jonny Bairstow. 

India is leading the four-match Test series 2-1 before coming into this match. England was struggling at 37-3 when the incident happened. “A little conflab in the middle between Ben Stokes and Virat Kohli, not sure what it’s about, it seems very friendly,” former England spinner Swann said on air before Kohli and Stokes got up close and personal. 

Maybe it’s not quite so friendly says  Swann on Virat Kohli-Ben Stokes spat

‘Maybe it’s not quite so friendly. The umpire’s stepping in. I want a clean fight lads, nothing below the belt, when the bell goes you go back to your corners. It’s not really up to the fielders to butt into the batsmen’s conversations when they’re out in the middle,” Swann continued. Interestingly, it was later revealed that Kohli was having a go at Stokes because the England player had said a few words to Mohammad Siraj, the young Indian pacer. 

‘Just let them get on with it, and you get on with your own game. It all seemed a bit childish to me,’ Swann continued on air. His fellow commentator Sunil Gavaskar opined that it was an attempt to disrupt the concentration of the batsman. Stokes ended up making a well-made 55. 

At the time of writing this, England had lost nine wickets and were batting to put up a good enough score in the first innings.