David Lloyd, in his column for Daily Mail, has criticised Virat Kohli for “pressuring, disrespecting and remonstrating with” umpires throughout England’s ongoing tour to India, asking the Indian captain to be “very careful of what he says and does”.

Kohli has been in the eye of the storm across all legs of the tour, with multiple instances of friction, both against umpires and opposition players. During the Test series, he was seen remonstrating with the on-field umpires after a review call, and later, in the T20I leg, got into an argument with Jos Buttler.

Noting that umpires in cricket are being “increasingly undermined”, Lloyd first questioned Kohli’s reservations against umpire call in the decision review system, and then went on to suggest that the India captain has been “disrespecting” umpires on England’s trip this year.

“[..] I don’t know if England put pressure on [umpire] Nitin Menon in Ahmedabad [as suggested by Kohli after the Dawid Malan incident], but I do know one thing — Kohli has been pressuring, disrespecting and remonstrating with umpires throughout this tour,” wrote Lloyd.

“There have also been a number of altercations in India which, when copied, will permeate through every level. There was another on Tuesday near the end of the India innings. You should not confront an opposition player on the field. It’s just not done. And the toothless International Cricket Council have done nothing.”

Lloyd further criticised the slow over-rates in the game, saying that, while both teams were fined in the T20I series, “none of the players gave a damn”.

“When T20 cricket was introduced in 2003 it was short, sharp and great fun. Now it’s like the Alamo. Games are lasting more than four hours! And Tuesday’s first innings of 50 overs took over four hours!…”

He then went on to say that players like Kohli, with their “vast responsibility and influence, should be careful of what he says and does”.

“Umpires have to be given their authority back,’ Lloyd wrote. “They must be handed yellow and red cards to stamp that lost authority because they look powerless. And Kohli, who has vast responsibility and influence, should be very careful in what he says and does.”

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