The heated altercation between Virat Kohli and Sam Konstas headlined the first day’s play in the ongoing Boxing Day Test between India and Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
During the break between the 10th and 11th overs of the Australian innings, Konstas and Usman Khawaja were changing ends when Kohli walked towards the debutant and gave him a shoulder push mid-pitch.
The 19-year-old did not back down and turned to confront Kohli as the duo exchanged some words, prompting other players and umpires to intervene.
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.
Speaking to IANS, former India wicketkeeper Syed Kirmani shared his thoughts on the Kohli-Konstas altercation, claiming the current crop of cricketers have a ‘cannot-take-it-lying-down' attitude.
“We played like gentlemen. Having said that, it's not that our cricketers are not playing like gentlemen. It is a matter of retaliation. Now, the attitude, and the application is changed. Now, we cannot take it lying down. We have to retaliate,” Kirmani said.
“This is the new attitude of the players of the current era of cricketers. In our time, there was sledging. We never retaliated. We just turned around and showed our backs. You see, the retaliation, the sledging and all that, you know, is just to distract the concentration of the players, particularly when you are batting, when a great batsman has come in when he is playing a great knock,” he added.
BCCI president Roger Binny also reflected on the confrontation involving Kohli and Konstas, stating that these things happen on the field.
"I did not see the incident (Virat Kohli-Sam Konstas incident), but these things happen on the cricket ground. You have to accept it and carry on. See that the game goes on. That is important," Binny told ANI.
In the post-day presser, Konstas had played down the incident with the comment that Kohli accidentally bumped into him.
"I was just adjusting my gloves, and I think he accidentally bumped me. But I think that is just cricket, just the tension," he said.
However, Australian media and some of their former cricketers came down heavily on Virat Kohli for his shoulder-barging act.
While a leading Australian newspaper depicted Kohli as a ‘clown’, former skipper Ricky Ponting complained that the Indian star’s punishment was not harsh enough.
