Virat Kohli has been fined 20 percent of his match fee for shouldering Sam Konstas.
After the 10th over of the Australian innings on the opening day, Kohli and Konstas bumped shoulders while moving across the pitch in the face off that was initiated by the Indian stalwart.
Following the incident, Kohli was charged with breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct and accepted the sanctions proposed by match referee Andy Pycroft. He was fined 20 percent of his match fee and also received one demerit point.
On Friday (December 27), a clip of the sports page from a popular Australian newspaper went viral on social media. The headline of the piece read 'Clown Kohli', accompanied by a photo of the Indian superstar with a 'clown's nose'. It also stated, "Indian sook slammed for pathetic bump in teen's dream Test debut," referring to Kohli's physical contact with Konstas.
Former Australian cricketers like Ricky Ponting and Mark Taylor have also condemned Virat Kohli’s shoulder-barging act.
Speaking to Star Sports, Shastri reacted to the over-the-top reaction, saying that it reflects the desperation of the home side, given their winless run against India in the Boxing Day Tests since 2011.
"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," Shastri said.
"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. 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.
"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," he added.
Shastri also slammed the critics for complaining about Kohli not receiving a harsher sanction, stating that the ICC must have followed proper protocols before determining the punishment.
Shastri recounted the 2018 episode involving Kagiso Rabada and Steve Smith, emphasizing how the South African pacer’s one-match ban was overturned and the punishment reduced to a 25 per cent match fee after appeals.
"Like I said, the match referee has done his job; the fine has been set at 20% of his match fee," Shastri said.
"There's a precedent. You know, there was a confrontation between Kagiso Rabada and Steve Smith that was more physical. Rabada was charged with a Level 3 punishment, and then he went and appealed. It was brought down to Level 1 and a 20% fine.
"So, there's a benchmark set. The umpires have a record of the players over the last few years regarding how often players have offended the laws. There are some points given there. A voting process takes place, and then they come up with a decision. Then it goes to the ICC technical committee, which makes the final call.
"So, they would have gone through all that. As I mentioned, there must be a benchmark somewhere, and a lot would have had to do with the Steve Smith and Rabada confrontation to bring it down to Level 1 and impose the punishment.
"It’s been handed over to the match referee, and you can do nothing about it," he further remarked.