IND vs AUS fifth Test: Sam Konstas had no right to talk to Bumrah when Khawaja was taking time, says Gautam Gambhir

Jasprit Bumrah reacts towards Australia’s Sam Konstas after dismissing Usman Khawaja during the fifth Test in Sydney.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Sam Konstas has the shots and the words. The last attribute at times does land him in a soup. During Australia’s first innings in the fifth Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground, the opener exchanged words with Jasprit Bumrah, who was complaining about Usman Khawaja ‘wasting time’ before close of play.

The Indian spearhead dismissed Khawaja in the same over and he and most of his teammates ran towards Konstas to make their displeasure known. Australian coach Andrew McDonald found that intimidating while his rival counterpart Gautam Gambhir had his own take on the issue.

Speaking to the media on Sunday (January 5, 2025), Gambhir said: “It’s a tough sport played by tough men. It can’t be that soft. He (Konstas) had no right to be talking to Jasprit Bumrah when Usman Khawaja was taking time. He had no business to be involved with Bumrah. That was the job of the umpire and the guy, who was batting.”

Later when Pat Cummins was asked to react, he said: “Obviously the ICC and Andy Pycroft (match referee) set the rules and the punishments. We saw that in Melbourne with Virat (Kohli), 20 per cent (of match fee), that’s what they thought, so it doesn’t really matter what we think, they set the rules, so obviously that’s the standard they are happy with.”