Virat Kohli was not extended any special treatment, asserted Indian great Sunil Gavaskar but some former Australian players felt the batting superstar got away lightly for his physical altercation with debutant Sam Konstas in the ongoing Boxing Day Test here. Kohli was fined 20 per cent of his match fee and handed a demerit point for a brief face off with Konstas on Thursday during which the two players bumped shoulders and exchanged words. The run-in was initiated by Kohli but the 19-year-old Konstas insisted that their physical contact was accidental.
The showdown remained a talking point even on Friday with Gavaskar slamming the Australian media for going after Kohli and demanding harsher punishment for him.
“You can’t hang a man for picking someone’s pocket,” Gavaskar remarked, dismissing claims that Kohli was let off lightly.
“That’s a slap on the wrist. All these players are highly paid professionals. Any fines will have to be a deterrent. Yes, you could say that the degree of punishment maybe light because of what we see and experience but that’s the maximum punishment decided by the ICC,” he pointed out on Star Sports after the first session.
“So, it’s not that he’s been done any favour. If the final punishment would have been say 10 percent you could have said then there’s a favour done,” he added.
Criticising the Australian media, Gavaskar said, “The Australian media acts like their 12th or 13th player, targeting anyone they perceive as a threat to their team.
“They are asking that Kohli should be hanged for a minor offence and he’s got away because he is Kohli but that’s not it.” However, former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting argued that the punishment was insufficient.
“Personally, I don’t think it was harsh enough. There have been precedents; things have happened in the past, and it generally has been 15-25 per cent fine, but let’s have a look at the enormity of the incident,” Ponting said on Channel 7.
“It was the most watched day of cricket throughout the whole year all around the world. Imagine if that now happens in a grade game. What’s gonna happen? I think people are gonna think that’s almost acceptable now,” he added.
The view was shared by Mark Waugh while dong commentary for ‘Fox Sports’.
“You can’t change direction and shoulder charge. It is just not on. Virat Kohli will look back on that and say, ‘I’ve done the wrong thing’. I think the penalty is extremely lenient,” he insisted.
He warned that such incidents have the potential of flaring if not dealt with strictly.
“If you put this situation where there might be a volatile crowd for example, and players are more volatile on the field it could end up in a place you don’t want to see on a cricket field.
“I think he is lucky not to get away with a suspension and if he has got a fine it should have been at least a 75 per cent fine. It has to be a deterrent. 20 per cent is nothing. There is no doubt Sam Konstas rattled the Indians,” he said, referring to Rs three lakh fine that Kohli would be paying from his Rs 15 lakh match fee.
Former Australia coach Justin Langer, however, criticised the Australian media for being “brutal”.
“The media, whether in Australia or elsewhere, can be brutal. They target high-profile individuals, and this is no different. I’ve experienced it firsthand, it’s not about India or Kohli specifically; it’s just how the media operates now,” he said.
Gavaskar, meanwhile, cited three similar incidents in the past one year to highlight consistency in penalties.
“Last December, Ireland’s Josh Little was fined 5 per cent of his match fee for physical contact with a batter in a game refereed by Andy Pycroft, the same referee in this match.
“Jasprit Bumrah was reprimanded for physical contact with England’s Ollie Pope, and Nepal’s Arjun Kumar faced penalties for a repeat offense. Kohli has received the maximum punishment (under the rules),” he recalled.
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