A new controversy has erupted after a video of Indian cricket superstar Virat Kohli surfaced in which he is seen avoiding shaking hands with South Africa head coach Shukri Conrad after the opening match of the ongoing three-match ODI series in Ranchi on November 30.
Virat Kohli played a brilliant inning of 135 runs as India defeated South Africa by 17 runs in the last over in Ranchi. With this thrilling win, the Men in Blue have taken a 1-0 lead in the ongoing ODI series, with the 2nd ODI taking place on Wednesday, December 3 in Raipur.
Virat Kohli criticizes South Africa coach Shukri Conrad after Ranchi ODI
After the Ranchi ODI, cameras captured the former Indian captain in several viral moments, and one of them was Shukri Conrad ignoring him.
As the Indian team climbed the stairs exchanging greetings with the South African players, Kohli seemed to completely ignore coach Conrad.
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In a video going viral on social media, Kohli can be seen walking straight past Conrad without shaking hands, nodding or making any acknowledgement, behaving as if the South African coach was not even there. But he shook hands with the next South African players standing in the queue.
The video is short, so it is unclear whether Kohli had already greeted Conrad before the South African head coach was caught on camera.
We missed it, Virat Kohli ignored South Africa head coach after India’s win
He must have heard the PC. pic.twitter.com/5VnVHlmLyY
– Dive (@crickohlic) 2 December 2025
The incident comes after Conrad sparked outrage with his controversial comments about India after they were eliminated in the Test series.
After South Africa’s impressive performance in the Guwahati Test, Conrad admitted that his team had deliberately batted slow to “really unsettle” the Indian players.
The term “growl” immediately raised eyebrows, as it has a negative and controversial history in cricket, most famously used by England captain Tony Greig in 1976 to humiliate the West Indies.
Questions are being raised on BCCI regarding the handling of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
Meanwhile, Indian cricket is once again in the headlines for how it treats its senior stars Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Experts and former selectors believe that the time has come to stop putting two legends on trial in every series, especially after their stellar performance in the first ODI against South Africa.
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This comes as the Indian team prepares for the ICC World Cup 2027 in South Africa, where the batting conditions are expected to be challenging. Although handing over the ODI captaincy from Rohit to Shubman Gill may seem like a natural move, the way it was handled did not seem natural.
Dressing room tension has increased in ODI setup
Questions remain on whether Rohit and Kohli will be able to maintain form and fitness for the next two years. Whenever an ODI series begins, instead of receiving praise for their consistent performances, both players often find themselves under scrutiny.
BCCI insiders suggested that part of the problem lay in “conflicting cultures” in the ODI dressing room. Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir is reportedly less vocal in ODIs compared to T20Is and Tests, the formats from which Rohit and Kohli have retired. Due to this difference of opinion, tension has arisen between the senior players and the team management.