Virat Kohli gets backing from former Australia captain Allan Border

India captain has come under criticism for sledging and heated exchanges with Australian counterpart Tim Paine during tense second Test in Perth

PERTH, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 18: Virat Kohli of India speaks during his press conference after day five of the second match in the Test series between Australia and India at Perth Stadium on December 18, 2018 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
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Former Australia captain Allan Border has come to the defence of Virat Kohli, saying his antics might be over the top but the game needs more "characters" who show "passion".

The India captain has come under criticism for his sledging and heated exchanges with Australian counterpart Tim Paine during the tense second Test in Perth, which at one point needed the umpire to intervene.

Bowling great Mitchell Johnson also criticised Kohli for failing to acknowledge the crowd's applause after he was controversially given out in the first innings for 123, and for his frosty handshake with Paine at the end of the game.

Kohli's animated wicket celebrations have also been widely frowned upon while former India opening batsman Sunil Gavaskar hit out at his "selection blunders".

And in a stunning rebuke, veteran Bollywood star Naseeruddin Shah described him as "not only the world's best batsman but also the world's worst behaved player".

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"Kohli's cricketing brilliance pales beside his arrogance and bad manners," Shah added on Facebook.

An opinion piece in the newspaper Hindustan Times on Thursday said Shah had articulated what many Indian cricket fans had been thinking.

"Aggression on the field, in terms of play, is no bad thing. But unwarranted aggression in personal conduct goes by another term: loutishness," it said.

"It is also, in Kohli's case, exacerbated by a sense of arrogance that he exhibits."

But Border leapt to the India captain's defence, saying the game needed players like Kohli.

"I haven't seen anyone sort of carry on so much as a captain when his side takes a wicket," he said in a Fox Sports podcast on Thursday.

"It's really over the top but it's good in a way. You can see some passion about what he's trying to do.

"There's not many characters in our game at the moment," Border added.

"The professional era has sort of beaten that out to a certain degree. It's good to see guys with that passion, drive and a bit of character."

Border, who played 156 Tests, including 93 as captain, said he believed Kohli was passionate by nature, but also motivated by a "quiet" squad and the desire to win India's first ever series in Australia.

"To drive the team to be No 1, which he's achieved, but to win away from home is one of those important things you notice as a captain," he said. "I think he's feeling that pinch."

The four Test series is tied 1-1 with the next one starting in Melbourne on Boxing Day.