Melbourne: Recalling a run-in with Virat Kohli, former Australia opener Ed Cowan on Friday said he once felt like picking up a stump and stabbing the current India captain after being told something “highly inappropriate”.
India got the better of Australia 2-1 at home in one of the most intense but bitterly-fought series in recent years. Top-notch cricket aside, the series was marked by one controversy after another with the two captains – Kohli and Steve Smith – in the eye of a raging storm.
Cowan was quoted as saying by Fox Sports, “I had a very sick Mum during one of those series and he said something that was inappropriate. What I make the point of ‘lost in translation’, he said something that was highly inappropriate.”
“A personal matter that was highly sensitive. Highly inappropriate. But he didn’t realise that he’d overstepped the mark until the umpire came over and said — ‘Virat that’s overstepped the mark’ — and once that was said, he took a step back and apologised. “But, there was a moment I wanted to pick up the stump and stab him.”
The Australians have been targeting Kohli ever since he stopped short of calling Smith a ‘cheat’ following the DRS drama, involving the visiting skipper, in the second Test at Bengaluru.
Cowan, who scored 1001 runs in 18 Tests with a best of 136, added that he is a big fan of the Indian.
“I’m a huge fan of his cricket. Don’t get me wrong he’s a phenomenal cricketer. “I had a little bit of a run-in that was inappropriate when he toured Australia and the umpire had to intervene. “We forget that English isn’t their first language. It’s very easy to sit back and say as a player they’re barking something at me that is inappropriate when we don’t try and converse with them in Hindi.”