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Former India captain and batting stalwart Virat Kohli has been in the limelight since his heated on-field altercation with Australia debutant Sam Konstas on Day 1 of the Boxing Day Test of five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25. After the fiery altercation, several pundits shared their opinions, but the Australian media was seen making mockery of the senior Indian batter.
An Australian media publication named 'The West Australian' took it to the next level as they titled the controversy ‘CLOWN KOHLI’ on back page of their newspaper for December 27. The publication further wrote, “Indian sook SLAMMED for pathetic bump in teen’s dream Test debut." Seeing this take a new turn, former India cricketer Ravi Shastri hit back at the Aussie media.
It’s a little bit of desperation: Ravi Shatsri shares his stance on targeting Virat Kohli
The former India captain Ravi Shastri added that he wasn’t surprised by the reaction for the Australian media following Virat Kohli’s bust-up with 19-year-old Sam Konstas. He further explained that the reaction for the media reflects the desperation of the home side, seeing that they have been winless against India in Boxing Day Tests. "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. You know, you’ve got to win at Melbourne. So, all these things creep in,” Shastri added. "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," he continued.
Further explaining the situation seeing how the series have panned out, the former cricketer turned commentator said, "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 reiterated.
