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The Moral Maze Reflects In Ishan Kishan After Virat Kohli's 2019 World Cup Walk Off Vs Pakistan

Soumyajit Dutta

Ishan Kishan and Virat Kohli [Source: @BluntIndianGal/X]Ishan Kishan and Virat Kohli [Source: @BluntIndianGal/X]

Cricket, a game often dissected by the precision of technology and the drama of human judgment, thrives on moments where instinct collides with integrity. On a balmy Hyderabad night in IPL 2025, Ishan Kishan chose silence over scrutiny, walking off without a murmur despite replays suggesting innocence.

It was something that Virat Kohli also faced in the past, in 2019 World Cup, where his honest admission was marred by a huge error.

What Happened In SRH vs MI Clash As Kishan Walked Off?

In the third over of a tense IPL clash between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians, Ishan Kishan trudged back to the pavilion with a wry smile. The dismissal was as baffling as it was abrupt. 

Deepak Chahar’s delivery, angling down leg, had brushed Kishan’s attempted flick. Wicketkeeper Ryan Rickelton collected it cleanly, but there was no immediate appeal. Only when Hardik Pandya gestured from mid-off did the decision solidify. 

Kishan, already halfway to the boundary, accepted his fate. Replays, however, told a different story. UltraEdge showed no spike. Social media erupted, hurling accusations of “match-fixing” and questioning Kishan’s integrity. 

For Ishan Kishan, it was a moment of instinct—a blend of self-awareness and the invisible pressure of a lean patch. But his act of walking, honest yet controversial, echoed a moment etched in cricket’s conscience, Virat Kohli’s ghostly dismissal against Pakistan in the 2019 World Cup.

Throwback To Kohli’s Honest Mistake

Five years ago, under the grey skies of Old Trafford, Virat Kohli stood on 77, anchoring India’s innings against Pakistan. A Mohammed Amir bouncer soared toward his ribs. Kohli swivelled, attempting a pull, but the ball grazed nothing but air before settling into Sarfaraz Ahmed’s gloves. 

Pakistan’s appeal was fervent. Umpire Marais Erasmus remained unmoved. Yet, Kohli walked. The Indian skipper’s conviction was absolute. He felt the edge. But replays revealed daylight between bat and ball. 

Kohli, livid in the dressing room, inspected his bat’s handle, wondering if a loose grip had deceived him. His dismissal at 314/5 stalled India’s momentum, restricting them to 336. 

Kohli’s walk was hailed as sportsmanship but later scrutinised as a misjudgment. The duality of his act—honourable yet flawed—resonates Kishan's decision.

Integrity or Impulse?

Kishan and Kohli’s acts, separated by years, are bound by a shared thread, the moral labyrinth of walking. In an era of DRS and UltraEdge, where technology often overrides human error, their decisions defy logic. Why self-punish when the system offers reprieve?

For Kohli, it was a batter’s instinct, a split-second belief in his own error. For Kishan, it might have been a subconscious surrender to dwindling form—a desire to escape the spotlight’s glare. Both acts, however, unravelled under technology’s cold gaze, leaving fans torn between admiration and scepticism.

Cricket romanticises the “spirit of the game,” but modernity demands proof. As fans dissect Kishan’s dismissal with conspiracy theories and Kohli’s ghostly edge remains a World Cup “what-if,” one truth endures, that Cricket’s soul lies in its contradictions.