The sport has not always been the most welcoming or respectful, but that may be improving in the era of player power
By Phil Walker for Wisden
Cricket Monthly
It’s perhaps a mark of how far our game has come, that when Virat Kohli missed the bulk of the Australia Test series to be with his wife in the last weeks of her pregnancy, there was barely a dissenting voice. Indian cricket’s chorus of minor royals and fading gods were largely supportive, even if some kept schtum for fear of being charged with regicide. Significantly for Kohli, he had Ravi Shastri, India’s head coach, in his corner. “These moments don’t come time and time again, and he’ll be happier for it,” said Shastri.
In the
Twitter court of public opinion, however, Kohli’s decision was not so universally backed. For some, playing a game of cricket for one’s country (or for the village twos, for that matter) still trumps all other human experience. Dilip Doshi was one of a small handful of former Test players to openly question whether the captain should be fleeing “a sinking ship”, while many cited the cases of MS Dhoni – who chose “national duty” over his heavily pregnant wife ahead of the 2015
World Cup – and Sourav Ganguly, who did the same when he was in charge.