Reports: Virat Kohli-Shikhar Dhawan clash led to "unrest" in Indian dressing room at Gabba

Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan (R)

Indian vice-captain Virat Kohli allegedly lashed out at Shikhar Dhawan for his unwillingness to come out to bat citing an injury on Day 4 of the Gabba Test, and as the opening batsman hit back, the incident created a chaos in the dressing room, if Hindustan Times reports are to be believed.

Kohli, who was forced to step in with Cheteshwar Pujara to start the proceedings on the fourth day at Brisbane after Dhawan excused himself due to an injury sustained during a practice session, was upset at not being given enough time to prepare himself; as the 26-year-old came back to the dressing room dismissed for just 1 run off the bowling of Mitchell Johnson, he accused Dhawan of faking an injury and chickening out to avoid facing Australian bowlers

Dhawan retaliated saying he takes pride in representing his country and would opt out if he feels his performances aren’t upto the mark. Indian team director Ravi Shastri had to intervene to stop the confrontation and has reportedly said Kohli that it doesn’t matter how big a player one is, he needs to be prepared to get onto the field and bat at any point of time.

Kohli’s dismissal sparked a collapse as the visitors were reduced from 71-1 to 87-5, losing Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni in the process, and eventually lost the match by 4 wickets. Dhawan, coming in after the fall of Ravichandran Ashwin at 117/6, managed to steer India to 224 top scoring with a 145-ball 81.

The target of 128 was chased down by Australia in 23.1 overs. Indian captain MS Dhoni, speaking during the post-match presentation ceremony, said that Dhawan’s late withdrawal created a bit of “unrest” in the dressing room, which the team couldn’t recover from, and blamed the uneven practice wickets for causing the injury.

Australia lead the 4-match series 2-0 with the third Test to start on December 26 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.