Star India batter Virat Kohli is grabbing headlines not for his performance but for his behaviour at the ongoing Boxing Day Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
Kohli failed to convert a good start as he was dismissed for 36 (86) by Scott Boland.
However, Sam Konstas and Virat Kohli have been the centre of attraction in the ongoing India vs Australia Boxing Day Test. Virat Kohli embodied a controversy during the morning session of Day 1 when he shoulder-pushed the 19-year-old Sam Konstas between overs.
Virat Kohli shoulder-bumped the Aussie debutant, resulting in a heated exchange between the two before the umpires had to get involved.
Virat Kohli was fined 20 per cent of his match fee and handed one demerit point for the incident. While some former Indian cricketers called Kohli’s actions unnecessary, Australian media also strongly criticized the former Indian skipper, labelling him a ‘bully’ and a ‘clown.’
Not just that, while fielding, Australian fans chanted Virat Kohli is a wild dog.
The derogatory remarks towards the star batter didn’t go down well with Indian fans of Kohli
Video of MCG crowd calling Kohli ‘wild dog’:
Not just that, following this incident, the Australian tabloid ‘Sunday Times’ took yet another dig at Virat Kohli, they used a picture of Sam Konstas with the headline, ‘Virat I Am Your Father’. The description states, ‘Young star who rattled down Kohli and his Indians primed to get Aussies back on track’.
Netizens called out the tabloid for disrespecting Kohli, regarded as one of the greatest batters in the modern era. This is not the first time that Kohli has been criticised following the Sam Konstas incident.
“You guys are stooping too low. Not only you are disrespecting Kohli but also bringing all the hate to a 19y/o by these stunts,” commented one user.
One user wrote, “Everything was fine, but this one..this is gross. Have some shame.” Another netizen commented, “A newspaper printing this?? There is a limit to banter and sledging as well, but this headline is in a very wrong taste. HAVE SOME SHAME!”
“Brainless, newspaper printing this? Have some shame? Oh, sorry, shameless, don’t feel shame,” another user commented.
Sam who has been very interactive with the MCG crowd, invoked a reaction from the MCG crowd while recreating Kohli’s shoulder-bump action.
Take a look at the video.
There is this one line in the ICC’s statement on Virat Kohli’s shoulder-barge of 19-year-old Aussie opener Sam Konstas that most would disagree with. According to the game’s governing body, Kohli had “negligently bumped his shoulder with the batter inappropriately”. It also said that there was no formal hearing required as Kohli had admitted the offence and accepted the sanction of a 20 per cent match fee cut. He would have got Rs 15 lakh, now he would receive Rs 12 lakh.