Melbourne, Dec 26 (PTI) The legendary Sunil Gavaskar on Thursday criticised Virat Kohli for his heated altercation with young Australian debutant Sam Konstas, saying there was “no need” for the incident and the Indian star wouldn’t want his legacy to be tarnished by such episode.
Kohli was fined 20 per cent of his match fee and awarded one demerit point for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct after he and Konstas bumped shoulders in the 10th over of the Australian innings on the opening day of the fourth Test here.
“Well I’m not sure what was the reason but there really was no need for that, we don’t need to have this in any grade of cricket, certainly not at the highest level. You can play very very competitive cricket without getting physical,” Gavaskar told India Today.
“I think we all want to remember Kohli as one of the greatest cricketers ever in the game and not as somebody who was fined whatever it is or censured by the ICC, we don’t want to want to hear that.
“You don’t want a legacy left where that is going to be also a talking point or a sticking point. So maybe hopefully, he’ll learn from that and not want to to repeat this again.” The incident happened after the 19-year-old Konstas had left India in a state of shock with his sensational stroke-play, taking down Jasprit Bumrah, on his way to a 65-ball 60.
In 10th over, while crossing over, Kohli and Konstas bumped shoulders and quickly turned around to glance at each other, engaging in a heated exchange of words.
The Australian opener Usman Khawaja immediately stepped in to separate them, putting his arm around Kohli. The on-field umpires also had a word with the two, as things cooled down rather quickly.
Known for his passionate on-field persona, Kohli has courted controversy in the past, often for rubbing the opposition the wrong way in the past too. He was sanctioned by the ICC in 2019 for another shoulder-barging incident with South Africa’s Beuran Hendricks.
“I think confrontational is absolutely in built in him, we’ve always seen that how he celebrates every wicket taken, every catch, every good fielding by his teammates, we understand that and that is great, there’s nothing wrong with that but I think getting physical I think it should not be done,” Gavaskar continued.
“I don’t know, I mean when you’re playing for India if that’s not big enough incentive then I don’t know what incentive you need.
“Playing for India itself is such a huge privilege that we could be playing you know the number 69th ranked team in the world or the number one team in the world that should be enough motivation.” Australia were 311 for six at stumps on the opening day of the Boxing Day Test. PTI ATK SSC SSC
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