“It’s just that some people are trying to take the focus away from the series”

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

India captain Virat Kohli has dismissed allegations that he tampered with the ball during the first Test against England in Rajkot earlier this month.

Kohli’s comments come after footage emerged showing him sucking on a mint and licking his fingers before shining the ball.

Ball-tampering has been the talk of the cricket community this week as interim South Africa Test captain Faf du Plessis was fined 100 per cent of his match fee by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for doing a similar thing in the second Test against Australia in Hobart.

Unlike Du Plessis, the ICC cannot take action against Kohli as it has already been more than five days since the first Test finished on November 13.

Responding to the allegations against him, Kohli felt as if it was being used to take the focus off the ongoing five-Test series.

“It’s just that some people are trying to take the focus away from the series and good luck to them,” the 28-year-old said. “We are just focused on what we have to do.

“It happened in Australia when South Africa won the series. I’m surprised the issue, of what I’ve been told, came up in Rajkot but there was no mention of it until the game was over in Vizag.

“To me a newspaper article doesn’t matter over the decision of ICC. We as cricketers respect that only.”

India lead 1-0 going into the third Test in Mohali on Saturday as they beat England by 246 runs in the second Test in Visakhapatnam.