Former India cricketers Sunil Gavaskar and Irfan Pathan have not held back in expressing their fury over the portrayal of Virat Kohli in an Australian newspaper. Following his shoulder barge incident with Australia debutant Sam Konstas, Kohli was labelled a “clown” by ‘The West Australian’ newspaper, and was humiliated further with a caricature of his face drawn with a red nose. Speaking on Day 2 of the fourth Test, Pathan and Gavaskar stated that unless something is said now, such a trend of disrespecting Indian cricketers will continue in the Australian media.
“Australian newspapers, media and even some ex-cricketers are the definition of being two-faced. First, they go and call Virat Kohli the ‘King’, but the moment he shows some aggression, he is labelled in this way. Double standards,” Pathan said on Star Sports.
“None of us supported the incident, but we left it to the officials. But here, first they’d call him the ‘King’ and then immediately call him a ‘Joker’ after that? You want to sell, you want to make cricket popular but at the expense of Virat Kohli’s market value? We will not accept this,” Pathan added.
IRFAN PATHAN’S REACTION ON AUSTRALIAN MEDIA…!!!! pic.twitter.com/tj5D3k2b7E
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) December 27, 2024
Pathan stated that such incidents towards Indian cricketers have been continuously happening for several years, and will keep happening if people from Indian cricket and media do not speak out.
Pathan gave an example of how he had been punished despite an argument and verbal abuse being thrown at him by former Australian cricketer Damien Martyn.
“When I got fined for the first time, I had just made a clap while Damien Martyn hurled an insult. But I was the one who could be seen on camera clapping, and I got fined. Damien Martyn escaped scot-free,” Pathan said.
Sunil Gavaskar echoed Pathan’s comments.
“This is old news. It’s always ‘if we do it, it’s alright, if you do it, it’s a crime’,” said Gavaskar.
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