Virat Kohli Can Be “Emotionally Hijacked” Occasionally: Simon Taufel

The former ICC elite panel umpire Simon Taufel has some interesting views to share on the Indian captain Virat Kohli in his book.

Taufel reckons that Virat Kohli is a highly passionate individual and always runs high on emotions while captaining his team, so there is a chance that he can get “emotionally hijacked”.

Taufel umpired in a no. of games where Virat Kohli was involved and he had the opportunity to observe Kohli’s antics on the field from a neutral point of view.

According to Taufel, being emotional is not a bad thing because if you are emotional, it means you are authentic and you have certain expectations from the players which you want them to meet.

And, the players also know that. They know this is your personality and this is the way you respond to the situations. You just have to make sure that you don’t let your emotions get better of you.

Taufel, however, insists that Kohli has changed as a person and he seems to have a better idea of his personality now. He is starting to understand that some of the traits of his personality might reflect on his game and he is starting to adjust.

“He is sometimes a passionate and combative person who can occasionally get emotionally hijacked.” Taufel wrote in his book “Finding The Gaps” which was published recently.

“Virat now appears to be very much self-aware of who he is and how these character traits can affect his game, and he can adjust when he needs to,” Taufel added.

Taufel has been one of the most prestigious umpires in the game in the last decade or so. He has been well respected by the players from all countries.

The 48-year old Australian, who is now retired from umpiring, was one of the on-field umpires in the ODI World Cup 2011 final between India and Sri Lanka.