Bhogle shuts down Pakistan journalist for 'delusional' view on India vs Bangladesh match

Veteran cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle has slammed a Pakistani journalist over his "delusional and myopic" view on Virat Kohli's 'fake fielding' saga. Earlier, Bangladesh wicket-keeper Nurul Hasan accused Kohli of 'fake fielding' after their T20 World Cup match on Wednesday. Hasan claimed that Kohli was involved in 'fake fielding' and that his team deserved five penalty runs during their match against India, indirectly accusing the umpires of overlooking the incident. 

After Hasan made the comment, Bhogle took to social media to share his position on the matter and said that no one on the field saw Kohli doing it. Replying to Bhogle's post, the Pakistani journalist named Kamran Yousaf stated, "Because BCCI controls everything including the broadcaster and commentators so certainly they won't show us the stuff that hurt India." 

Bhogle responded to Yousaf and said that he is blown by how "delusional and myopic" the Pakistani journalist is. "Luckily, your players don't think like you and backed themselves today. Do wake up to a wider world where your performance determines your progress. You owe it to your readers and viewers," Bhogle added. 

Yousaf again responded to Bhogle by continuing his senseless tirade on cameras not showing the Kohli incident. Bhogle put a full stop to his unintelligent argument by stating that these type of reactions from a 'journalist' is appalling.   

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Here's what happened

The incident that Hasan mentioned in his post-match press conference occurred in the seventh over of Bangladesh's innings before the match was halted due to rain. In a video that is going viral on social media, Kohli can be seen pretending to relay a throw from Arshdeep Singh at the non-striker's end even though he did not receive the ball, which went directly to wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik at the striker's end. However, it is important to note that everyone missed the incident during play while it was not a distraction for the batsmen so a call for a penalty is unjustified. 

Here's what the law says 

According to ICC playing conditions rule 41.5, "it is unfair for any fielder to wilfully attempt, by word or action, to distract, deceive or obstruct either batsman after the striker has received the ball. It is the responsibility of the umpires to decide whether any distraction, obstruction, or deception is deliberate or not. If either umpire considers that a fielder has caused or attempted to cause such a distraction, he shall immediately call and signal Dead ball and award 5 penalty runs to the batting side."

Image: AP