NEW DELHI (TIP): Stung by the Indian media’s severe criticism of Virat Kohli‘s abusive rant at a journalist and the bizarre statement on the issue by team’s media manager RN Baba, the Indian cricket board (BCCI) rushed in to douse the fire with a statement of apology on March 5.

In a carefully-worded statement released to pacify the angry media, BCCI’s secretary Anurag Thakur emphasized on the key role media plays in covering and popularizing the game of the cricket.

“The BCCI has taken note of the incident that occurred in Perth a couple of days ago. The BCCI has been in touch with the Indian team management on this issue, and has advised that this kind of incident should not be repeated,” Thakur said in the statement.

Thakur’s choice of words suggests a change in BCCI’s attitude towards the journalists. “The BCCI respects the role played by the media in covering and popularizing the game of cricket and acknowledges the support of the media in its mission to administer and promote the game of cricket in India,” Thakur said.

“The player in question has been told to maintain the dignity of the Indian team at all times, and avoid any such behaviour in the future. The BCCI would like to request the concerned parties to move on, and focus on the Indian cricket team’s campaign in the ongoing ICC CWC 2015,” Thakur added.

Baba, in his statement on Wednesday, had strangely dismissed the incident by saying Kohli had not abused the journalist.