What is surprising about all this is Kohli has been far more forthcoming and articulate in press conferences than his predecessor and much has been made of his growing maturity in recent times.

We shouldn’t be surprised by Virat Kohli's abusive outburst at an Indian journalist. We know Kohli is a hot head. We also know the Indian team has little time or respect for the press.

In this, they are led by two men: the now former BCCI president N Srinivasan and India captain MS Dhoni. Their distaste for the media is another tie that binds both men together. Both men are also happy to obfuscate rather than elaborate; happy to evade rather than debate.

The only time N Srinivasan had bothered to speak to the press was when he needed to rebut the allegations and accusations made against him after his son-in-law, Gurunath Meiyappan, was arrested for betting on the IPL while he a Chennai Super Kings team official.

Dhoni’s attitude is no less dismissive. He mocked journalists who asked him questions about the IPL spot-fixing scam and mocked them again when retired from Test cricket, saying they could ask questions but he did not have to answer them. What both men fail to realise that we in the media don’t ask questions because we want to; we ask because the fans (presumably) want to know.

The only time Dhoni fronts up is when he is forced to do so by ICC rules and even then, he does so as reluctantly as possible, as Vaibhav Sharma details on livemint.com.

“Shortly after last week’s game between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) concluded, the UAE captain Mohammed Tauqir appeared for the post-match press conference. India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni turned up nearly an hour later, despite ICC convention that dictates that the captain, or chosen player from each team, be available to the press within 30 minutes of a game’s conclusion. When Dhoni finally appeared, there was not the slightest hint of an apology.”

When the organization you represent and the man you ostensibly follow care so little, it isn’t surprising that Kohli would lose it. It would take a rare personality to go against that powerful a grain.

It is also a running joke among the press in Australia that India’s media manager, Dr. Baba, sends out emails everyday saying India will not have a media event while other teams are happy to put forward players or staff for interviews. The BCCI believes in controlling the message to the extent that there is no message at all.

The board failed to spin this tale, though that was not for lack of trying. Dr. Baba said the minimum he could while attempting to sweep the issue under the carpet:

Dear all

There was a misunderstanding and no abusive language was used,Virat has spoken to the concerned gentlemen immediately and matter ends... Regards

Dr. Baba

What the BCCI apparently failed to consider is that journalists aren’t so easily bamboozled, especially when they are involved. Jasvinder Singh, the Hindustan Times journalist who was at the receiving end of Kohli’s tirade. has complained to the ICC.

Given that the head of the ICC is one N Srinivasan, it remains to be seen how this will play out.

What is surprising about all this is Kohli has been far more forthcoming and articulate in press conferences than his predecessor and much has been made of his growing maturity in recent times. Clearly, he still has some growing up to do.