It rarely had happened before, that Australians extend an arm of friendship and it is rejected. They are not used to it. They are used to be arrogant and dismissive. They think they are forever superior.They come, they abuse, they conquer.
Call it IPL effect or the big clout of India in world cricket, Australian captain Steve Smith extended an arm of friendship after a hostile test series. He invited Indian team for a beer party. Invitation was rejected. He publically apologized for some of his comments. His indian counterpart Virat Kohli said, thanks, but I don’t need your apology, since we don’t need to be friends again!
Such defiant arrogance is rarely seen in professional cricket, where the saying goes that fight hard and then leave all bitterness to the pitch and don’t carry it with you out of the playground.
Australian media clearly have had enough of Kohli. He is being called classless. He is being labeled childish. He is held as a villain. Today no other person is more hated in Australia than Virat Kohli. Australian media is calling Steve Smith the real champion who plays with sportsman spirit and Virat Kohli a real villain who has taken things too far. Maybe they are missing good old days of Indian cricket, they are missing true gentlemen of Indian cricket like Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.
Though I assume Kohli maybe doing this on purpose. He is clearly trying to get undet the skins of Australian cricketers, many of whom shall be playing in IPL shortly. He also maybe deriving some morbid pleasure out of it. You know, being hated also gives some twitsted pleasure and once you are ready to cross the limits of being good and gentle, you can really hit back and take joy in it. Clearly the case with Kohli.
Arrogance has many forms. “In your face” arrogance of Kohli is well known. But keeping one’s poise is also a kind of gentle arrogance. It is just like saying, “I am too good to be bad and if you are bad then maybe you are not good enough!”
Second, those who are traditionally aggressive, start taking their aggression for granted. They start thinking this is their privilege. Even people start expecting aggression from them. While those who are traditionally forgiving, are taken to be forgiving in all situations. People even start demanding the same meek response from them each time. And if they start to be aggressive, suddenly this is greeted with some hostile wonder. What was expected from the former, is somehow not accepted at all from the latter.
Same is happening with the india under Virat Kohli. It will take some time for the world to get used to an arrogant and aggressive India.
