The shoulder-barging incident between India stalwart Virat Kohli and 19-year-old Australia opener Sam Konstas was an ugly episode in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. It was an incident that divided opinion regarding who was at fault, how bad the punishment should be, and even led to Kohli being portrayed as a “clown” by Australian media. However, looking back on it, former Australia captain Michael Clarke has speculated on what may have been the reason that caused Kohli to clash with Konstas during the game. Clarke also made a statement on Kohli’s character.
“I think Virat was getting frustrated with the lack of respect that Sam was showing the best bowler in the world in (Jasprit) Bumrah. I think that’s what frustrated Virat. I think it was him sticking up for his team,” said Clarke, speaking on the Beyond 23 Cricket Podcast.
“Virat, such a senior player. Tough, aggressive cricketer on the field – will not take a backward step, never has through his whole career,” Clarke added.
On debut, Konstas had not shied away from the danger posed by Bumrah. The rookie smashed Bumrah for 14 and 18 in two overs early on, including reverse-scooping him for six. It was between those two overs that the shoulder clash between him and Kohli happened.
Ultimately, Konstas played a superb knock of 60 off 65 balls to get Australia off to the perfect start in the Boxing Day Test.
Clarke, however, reiterated that Kohli is a “great guy” who would’ve sorted the issue out after the game.
“I know Virat as well, he would have spoken to Sam after the game. Virat’s a great guy. So those two would have sorted it out. I don’t know (if) Virat would have said sorry, whatever it was. Virat is not a nasty person. So that would be fixed 100%,” Clarke said.
For the incident, Kohli was fined 20 per cent of his match fees, as well as handed one demerit point by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
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