Melbourne: Hitting back at Virat Kohli for a send-off following his dismissal during the first Twenty20, Australia batsman Steven Smith said the chatter-box gesture by “emotional” Indian was not required at all.
Smith lost his wicket soon after a live chat with TV Commentators, triggereing debate if the technology was doing more harm than good to the game.
“He gets pretty emotional out there, doesn’t he?. I don’t think you need to do that kind of thing when someone gets out. It’s fine to have a little bit of banter when you’re out in the field, but when someone is out I don’t think that’s really on,” Smith told Fox Sports.
The Test skipper blamed poor shot selection for his dismissal rather than indulging in a discussion with the commentators.
“It was on at the time, but for me it was just a bad shot. I tried to chip one over the top for two rather than trying to hit him for four or six. It was my fault and I got to do better next time,” he said.
While Kohli’s gesture suggested that he wasn’t impressed with Smith’s chatter, even fans seemed to believe that the live mic-chat led to the Australian batsman’s dismissal as the hosts lost the match by 37 runs.
Social media was abuzz and even analysts denounced technology’s interference in the game.
Meanwhile Australian opener David Warner has defended Channel Nine’s use of mike-chat technology, saying it is the players’ responsibility to keep their concentration intact.
“We have been doing that for the last couple of years. Obviously it is not in the interest of Channel Nine to disturb us when we are out there and you know, for us to get us dismissed. That’s upon us to get to respond to them in professional to actually understand that’s what happened when you are out there.” Warner said. (PTI)
