Abusive Virat Kohli caught on wrong foot

Virat Kohli's short-tempered nature has landed him in unwanted trouble yet again.

In a case of mistaken identity, India's vice captain allegedly used filthy language against a New Delhi-based journalist, here on World Cup duty, on the sidelines of a practice session on Tuesday. Making his way from the ground to the dressing room at the Sports Oval, located on the premises of Murdoch University, Kohli apparently launched an unprovoked attack on the scribe.

Stunned, the journalist reminded the batting icon that he was a national player and asked him to behave responsibly. Kohli apologised for his rant but, by then, the damage had been done.

Kohli mistook the journalist for a similar-looking scribe, also from New Delhi. The batsman was apparently unhappy about a piece the latter had written about his girlfriend, Bollywood starlet Anushka Sharma, during India's tour of England in 2014. A few minutes later, Kohli realised he had got the wrong man. Soon, he requested another journalist to convey his apologies to the concerned scribe. "I want you to do me a favour. Please tell that journalist (pointing towards the one he targeted) that I am sorry for what I said to him." The message was duly conveyed.

For the record, the scribe who Kohli had intended to attack wasn't even at the ground.

Standing outside the dressing room door, Kohli, now joined by teammate Suresh Raina and logistics manager MA Satheesh, repeatedly displayed the 'thumbs-up' sign to the journalist, who was at the receiving end of Kohli's ire. The journalist later claimed that the Indian cricketer did not apologise to him in person.

Tuesday's incident is symptomatic of the horrible relationship between the Indian team and the media contingent. Unlike other teams, who allow the media to speak to a member of the playing squad or support staff every other day during the World Cup — or, for that matter, a full tour — Team India doesn't encourage any of this. The only time travelling journalists get to speak to a player is at the pre- or post-match press conference. And more often than not, it's skipper MS Dhoni who turns up.

The players have also made their point, albeit in private, to journalists close to them. The players reckon that the media targets them unfairly. There is absolute mistrust between the team and the fourth estate.