The first day of the Melbourne Test saw Virat Kohli comfortably defeat Australia’s youthful opener Sam Constus, which elevated the intensity of the game. Ever since, the Australian media and pundits have been disparaging the star Indian batsman, but Kohli has also not been well-received in India.
Virat Kohli, the star batsman for Team India, has not had much success on the Australia tour. Kohli’s bat is silent following his century in the second Test innings in Perth. Like every Australian tour, he is embroiled in controversy amidst all of this. After the Brisbane Test, Kohli’s actions off the field brought him into controversy. He inflicted more damage on young Australian batsman Sam Constus in the Melbourne Test. While the Australian media, ex-cricketers, pundits, and supporters disparage Kohli in this regard, his actions have also not been well-received in India. Kohli will undoubtedly suffer from the remarks made on this issue by close friends and family members like Ravi Shastri and Dinesh Karthik.
This disturbance occurred on Thursday, December 26, the first day of the Test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. In this match, 19-year-old batsman Constus, who was playing for Australia for the first time, came out swinging. In the match’s opening session, this put pressure on Team India. Frustration was taking its toll on the Indian players in this scenario, but it most likely affected Kohli, who violently shoulder-butted Sam Constus as he moved to the other side following an over. This also appeared to enrage Constus, and the two got into a fight that was eventually resolved.
Shastri criticised Kohli
While the situation may have subsided on the field, it remained heated among the media and spectators off the field the entire day. Australian fans, pundits, and media expressed their outrage at Kohli, and there was a call to exclude him from the upcoming Test match. In the middle of everything, Ravi Shastri, the former coach of Team India, also chastised Kohli for this. After the play of the day was over, Shastri—who was close to Kohli while he was the Indian coach—called this gesture needless. Shastri declared, “There was no need for this at all. You don’t want to witness everything. In particular, Virat is an experienced player who has led the team as captain. He would like to clarify, but there was no need for this at all. The match referee will keep an eye on this.”
Karthik explained the cause
Dinesh Karthik, who was a longtime player for Team India alongside Virat Kohli and is currently the batting coach of the Royal Challengers Bangalore, responded to this topic on the program Cricbuzz. Karthik stated that frustration—caused primarily by Sam Constus’s explosive batting—was the driving force behind the entire incident. Karthik stated that the main reason for this was that Team India would not have even imagined that a new opener would come to the crease and put them under such pressure. Famous pundit Harsha Bhogle criticized Kohli’s actions in the same episode, saying that his punishment of receiving just one demerit point and a 20 percent match fee was extremely light. Everyone agreed with his assertion that the punishment ought to have been more severe than it was.