Famous cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle has criticized an Indian news agency for its “selectively edited reporting”. The comments came after a video of him which appeared to be criticizing Virat Kohli’s T20 strategy went viral. A video clip posted by Press Trust of India (PTI), considered one of the premium news agencies of India, shows Bhogle discussing Virat Kohli’s T20 batting style at an event. He implies that, at some point, “it might actually be in the interest of the team” that Kohli gets dismissed from the game to make room for a more aggressive batter.
“Virat Kohli is a great example. Virat Kohli is playing Test cricket for India. He is not supposed to get out. Now, he goes to play for RCB, for India. Beyond a certain point, it might actually been the interest of the side for him to get out. How do you reconcile to the fact that I am one of the greatest that’s played the game but actually at this stage, it’s in the team’s interest that I get out because the person who is coming in will probably hit 20 off six balls?” Bhogle is heard saying in a clip posted by the news agency on X (previously Twitter).
The video infuriated fans, who questioned Bhogle’s position in the post’s comments. A few hours later, however, Bhogle responded to PTI’s video with a tweet. He alleged that it had been selectively edited.
Harsha Bhogle hits back
“This is an example of what I was talking about with social media,” Bhogle wrote. “The video is cropped just before the point where I say that Virat is capable of playing across situations. I was only highlighting how even the greatest players have to keep adjusting demands and priorities.
“Come on @PTI_News I am sure you can do better. With selectively edited reporting, nobody will be able to articulate thoughts again. Can you put out the whole clip please?”
He continued criticizing the news organization for being “irresponsible click bait” in a later tweet.
“If even @PTI_News succumbs to irresponsible click bait [sic] media, what chance does our profession have?,” Bhogle wrote. “Extremely disappointed. I hope the head of @PTI_News news is too. Come on, let us maintain the fairness of our profession,” Harsha wrote.
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