Virat Kohli hurls bottle at Australian official: Report

The DRS dressing room controversy between India and Australia has taken yet another ugly turn as Australian newspaper the Daily Telegraph has accused skipper Virat Kohli and team coach Anil Kumble of poor behaviour during the second Test of the series.

Australian captain Steve Smith was accused of breaking the rules by seeking dressing room's help to opt for DRS on an LBW decision during the Bengaluru Test match at M Chinnaswamy stadium.

According to a report in The Daily Telegraph, Kohli threw an energy drink bottle towards an Australian official. It also claimed that the right-hand batsman also used a 'throat-slitting gesture to send-off Peter Handscomb late in the Test.'

The report termed Kohli's on-field behaviour as worst and said, “The spirit of the game notion has been pronounced dead in the game many times before, but Kohli — a law unto himself — would appear to have killed it off once again with his behaviour some of the worst by an international captain since villainous Sri Lankan leader Arjuna Ranatunga.”

The Australian Daily further accused Kumble of storming into the umpires’ room to seek clarification about Kohli’s leg-before dismissal in the first innings.

The report stated, “Kohli might be the aggressor in the brazen campaign India is running against Australia’s integrity — even striking an Australian official with an orange Gatorade bottle — but coach Kumble, one of the main instigators of the Monkeygate fiasco, would appear to have reclaimed his role as the puppeteer behind the scenes. It’s understood Kumble has also made his fury known about the actions of the match referee Chris Broad during the Test, complaints which are now to be passed onto the ICC by the BCCI.”

“It can be revealed he (Kohli) unleashed an astonishing outburst in the dressing rooms following his dismissal, smashing a Gatorade bottle off a table, where it then rebounded off a television and struck an Australian team official on the leg. Kohli was also swearing in the direction of the Australian box as he left the field and using a throat-slitting gesture to send-off Peter Handscomb late in the Test," it added.