Former India captain Ravi Shastri spoke little about the overreaction he saw from a section of the Australian media in its reaction to Virat Kohli’s on-field collision with 19-year-old opener Sam Konstas during the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne on Tuesday. Shastri felt this overreaction was a characteristic of the home side-a sign of frustration given its lack of success against India in high-pressure Boxing Day Test encounters. On Friday morning, a viral image of a sports page from a major Australian newspaper featured the headline “Clown Kohli,” alongside a photo of the Indian star with a ‘clown’s nose’. The article also referred to Kohli’s confrontation with Konstas as “Indian sook slammed for pathetic bump in teen’s dream Test debut.”
“They Will Go Beserk”
“You expect that in a home country. I wish our country would stand up for our players in situations like this in a bigger way. I am not surprised by this at all, simply because Australia hasn’t won here in 14–15 years. The last time they won a Test match at the MCG was in 2011. So, when they get an opportunity to go berserk, they will go berserk,” Ravi Shastri told Star Sports.
“In many ways, it’s a little bit of desperation. You know, you are three matches into the series, the scoreline is 1–1, and you have still not won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Australian Media’s “Desperation”
“You know, you’ve got to win at Melbourne. So, all these things creep in.
“I’ve been to Australia many, many times. It’s like the whole country comes behind the team—not just the crowds, but the media as well. I am not surprised because I see that sense of desperation. If Australia had already been 3–0 or 2–0 up, the headlines might have been different.
“Someone Had To Be The Target”
“I know where that’s coming from. It’s built up over a period of time, and it had to come out somewhere. Someone had to be the target. Then they got the opportunity with that physical incident yesterday.
“They said, ‘This is our chance; let’s get pens and paintbrushes out and start doing all sorts of things.’ You saw that thing on Virat Kohli’s nose. I mean, they forgot to paint the seam there—that would have been a ball.”
Also Read: IND Vs AUS: Loud Cheers For Virat Kohli At MCG, His Reaction Goes Viral Instantly | Watch Video
Criticism has come not only from international quarters but also from a section of former Australian cricketers who termed Kohli’s action as unacceptable, leading to the ICC levying sanctions. Speculations had surfaced that Kohli could face a Test ban due to this Level 2 offense; however, he avoided suspension and instead received a 20% match fee fine from match referee Andy Pycroft on Thursday. Shastri also responded to the criticism, saying that the ICC has followed proper procedure when handing out the punishment.
