Indian skipper Virat Kohli finally accepted that he may have “got away” after his infamous display of the middle-finger during the 2012 Sydney Test between India and Australia.

Back in 2012, during India’s tour to Australia, a photograph of Virat Kohli had gone viral on the internet. In the photo, Virat was seen showing his middle finger to the Australian crowd. Speaking to Wisden Cricket Monthly, Virat Kohli said that it is one episode he would like to forget. “The one thing I remember most is when I’d had enough of the Australian crowd at Sydney [in 2012] and I just decided to flick a [middle] finger at them,” Virat Kohli said.

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Remembering the incident Virat Kohli said, “The match referee [Ranjan Madugalle] called me to his room the next day and I’m like, ‘What’s wrong?’ He said, ‘What happened at the boundary yesterday?’ I said, ‘Nothing, it was a bit of banter’. Then he threw the newspaper in front of me and there was this big image of me flicking on the front page and I said, ‘I’m so sorry, please don’t ban me!’ I got away with that one. He was a nice guy, he understood I was young and these things happen.”

PIC: Virat Kohli shows middle finger to the Australian crowd at Sydney Cricket Ground. #Kohli #MiddleFinger #IndvsAus pic.twitter.com/WHhhXEOG

— CricIndian (@CricIndian) January 4, 2012

Recalling the days when he had accumulated a number of negative headlines, Virat Kohli said, “I really laugh at a lot of the things I did when I was younger but I’m proud that I did not change my ways because I was always going to be who I am and not change for the world or for anyone else. I was pretty happy with who I was.”

Talking about his coach Rajkumar Sharma, Kohli said he played a major role in shaping his technique and personality. “My coach, Rajkumar Sharma, was always looking at things from the outside and he understood me the most after my family, because I had interacted him so much over the years. My family as well. Every time they felt like I was not on the right path they told me,” Kohli said, adding, “But my coach was the one that was very stern with me. If I was doing something wrong he would make sure that he got that across, one way or the other. He was the only person I was scared of when I was growing up. I went into his academy when I was nine and even now I still speak to him about my game.