Virat Kohli is the current flavour of Indian fans after his exploits with the bat. But reports of an ugly spat with a journalist at the World Cup will only enhance his reputation within the press corps of being volatile.
After finishing his nets session on Tuesday, the 26-year-old batsman started swearing at an Indian national daily reporter over a story about the cricketer's private life, according to reports from journalists covering the World Cup.
Kohli, currently India's best batsman across all formats, later realised it was a case of mistaken identity and apologised to the target of his abuse through another journalist.
"There was a misunderstanding and no abusive language was used, Virat has spoken to the concerned gentlemen immediately and that ends the matter," the team's media manager, Dr R N Baba, said.
Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Anurag Thakur said the incident in Perth was a case of misunderstanding and the issue should be put to rest immediately to let the team focus on the World Cup.
"He (Kohli) has clarified on the issue. For India the ongoing World Cup is very important. We need to put all these issues to rest; he has indirectly has communicated that he misunderstood the situation. Let's put this matter to an end," Thakur said.
Kohli has often polarised opinion over his regular run-ins with opposition players and was fined half of his match fee in 2012 for responding to barracking from the crowd by gesturing at them with his middle finger during a Sydney Test.
There were also multiple reports of him having a dressing-room spat with team mate Shikhar Dhawan during the recent Test series in Australia after he had to bat at short notice following an injury to the opener.
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