Virat Kohli, former India captain, has been fined 20 per cent of his match fee in the India vs Australia 4th Test in Melbourne after a shoulder barge incident with debutant Sam Konstas on Thursday, sources told NDTV. The incident happened after the completion of the 10th over of the Australian innings when the players were crossing over.
Virat Kohli and Konstas bumped shoulders while moving across the pitch. Both players quickly turned around to glance at each other and engage in a heated exchange of words with Konstas’ teammate Usman Khawaja stepping in to separate them.
Australian debutant Sam Konstas was at his aggressive best in the Boxing Day Test which is being played at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground, on December 26 (Thursday). However, the young star Sam Konstas later got into heated altercations with Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj and later with Virat Kohli. Sam Konstas and Virat Kohli were even seen smashing shoulders as they walked past each other, the opening session of the fourth Border-Gavaskar Trophy was full of action be it with bat and ball or atmosphere.
Virat Kohli Escapes Ban But Fined Over Sam Konstas Heated Clash In Boxing Day Test
Virat Kohli has been fined 20% of his match fee and awarded one demerit point for for shoulder bumping Sam Konstas at the MCG on Thursday morning. The incident occurred after the end of the 10th over of Day One when Kohli was seen shoulder-nudging the debutant Australian opener in front of a 90,000-strong MCG crowd. It led to an exchange between the players with the other opener, Usman Khawaja, trying to cool things down. Kohli’s act drew instant outrage with Ricky Ponting calling for sanctions against the Indian batter.
The on-field umpires also had a word with the two. “Virat Kohli has been slapped with a Level 1 offence. He has been fined 20 per cent of the match fees,” a source told NDTV. After incident, many former players predicted that Kohli may face suspension but that has not happened as he has been charged with a Level 1 offence. Level 2 offences carry a penalty of three to four demerit points. Four demerit points would lead to a suspension of one Test.
The ICC’s Code of Conduct states that “any form of inappropriate physical contact is prohibited in cricket. Without limitation, players will breach this regulation if they deliberately, recklessly and/or negligently walk or run into or shoulder another player or umpire”.
The young debutant came out roaring at the MCG, he was not ready to be treated like a rookie and to make a statement he took on the biggest guys in the yard. First his audacious play against the most successful bowler of the series Jasprit Bumrah. He was not letting Bumrah’s lethality get to him but instead did not let the premium speedster settle with his aggressive gameplay which saw some fearless scoops and step-out shots
Sam Konstas gets into altercation with Virat Kohli and Siraj
This all started when Sam Konstas stepped out for the first time against Siraj but failed to make a connection, the Indian pacer was seen throwing a couple of words at the young debutant. Sam Konstas later did the same thing and this time able to find a connection but could not score runs. Siraj was once again seen saying some words towards the youngsters while camera even showed Virat Kohli giving a stare to him.
Sam Konstas was not holding back in any manner, on the very next ball, he smashed a boundary and answered with both words and bat to Siraj. At the end of this over, Kohli and Sam Konstas bumped into each other with clashing shoulders and were seen in an almost heated exchange with Usman Khawaja and umpires intervening before things could escalate further.
Former England bowler Steve Harmison opens up on Sam Konstas controversy in BGT 2024-25 stating that Virat Kohli should have been banned on his actions during the series.
Former England bowler Steve Harmison shares his opinion on Sam Konstas- Virat Kohli controversy in BGT 2024-25
Former England fast bowler Steve Harmison has opined that Virat Kohli deserved a ban for his shoulder barge on Australia’s debutant Sam Konstas in Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. The incident took place during the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.
On TalkSport Cricket, Steve Harmison shared his thoughts on the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 series. Australia won the five-match series by 3-1. There were several talking points from the series, but the biggest was the Virat Kohli vs Sam Konstas controversy.
In the fourth Test, when Konstas dominated Indian pacers on debut, Virat had a shoulder bump with him during the break between overs. Later in the fifth Test in Sydney, Virat gave an aggressive send-off to Konstas when Usman Khawaja got out on the opening day’s final ball after the Aussies openers tried to waste time.
“What happened with Kohli there, Kohli was bang out of order. Virat Kohli should have been banned for what he did. You know how much I love Virat Kohli and what he has done for the game but there’s a line and you do not cross it,” Harmison said.
While Virat Kohli did not receive a ban, the referee punished him by handing him a 20 percent match fee fine in Melbourne. Virat Kohli also got a demerit point for the shoulder bump with Konstas. Virat Kohli stepped down as India’s Test captain after the away series against South Africa in 2022. He stayed away from the leadership group until the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, where he led the side when both Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah were unavailable.
In the final innings of the fifth Test, Jasprit Bumrah did not come out to the field due to injury concerns, while Rohit Sharma had opted out of the game. Virat Kohli stepped up and led the team, but Australia chased down the 162-run target with six wickets in hand to win the series.