Former cricketer Sunil Gavaskar gave his opinion on the bumping incident between Australia youngster Sam Konstas and India stalwart Virat Kohli saying it was “simply not cricket.” In front of a sold-out crowd on the opening day of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG, a single incident dominated the headlines for days. The buildup for the entire incident started when Konstas took on arguably the world’s best pacer in the present scenario, Jasprit Bumrah. The 19-year-old took the world by surprise by perfectly executing a ramp shot off Bumrah over the head of wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant to pick up a six.
The Indian team was reduced to silence at that moment as the Australian crowd roared and celebrated in jubilation.
Bumrah was stunned, and so was the Indian team. After that, Konstas kept charging at him to effortlessly pick up boundaries.
As Konstas left no stone unturned to thrash the bowlers, a single incident added another layer of spice and heat at the MCG. At the end of the 10th over, Kohli bumped the debutant’s shoulder, which led to an exchange between them.
Usman Khawaja, who was batting at the other end, was seen trying to pacify the two players. While fans and former cricketers gave their take on the entire incident, Gavaskar felt Kohli’s reaction was that it was “simply not cricket.”
“That said, what Kohli did with the shoulder bump is simply not cricket. Indians are not shy to retaliate if provoked, but here the provocation was simply not there. The one thing that players learn with experience is that it’s futile to try and get back at the crowds, who have come to have a good time, so booing players is never personal but just a way to entertain themselves,” Gavaskar wrote in his column in The Sydney Morning Herald.
Throughout the series, Kohli had a couple of exchanges with the Australian fans. The home crowd didn’t hesitate to ‘boo’ the Indian star and Kohli didn’t hesitate to react.
In the first session of the final BGT Test, Virat, riled up by the Australian crowd decided to take a dig at the fans present at the SCG.
He was seen imitating scenes from the sandpaper scandal that occurred during Australia’s tour of South Africa in 2018. Turning to the crowd, Virat showed his empty pockets, subtly hinting at the infamous incident.
“To react to that doesn’t do the player any good, and in fact, does more harm. Kohli must understand that whatever he does to react to the crowd actually puts more pressure on his teammates, who also then become targets of the spectators,” Gavaskar added.
Apart from his on-field antics, Kohli struggled to maintain his discipline since scoring an unbeaten Test century in Perth. Throughout the series, venues changed, but the manner of his dismissal stayed the same.
The outside off-stump deliveries tempted Kohli again and again to go for a drive. Kohli’s resistance eventually gave away, as he lost his wicket by edging towards the slip or to the wicketkeeper.
Australian pacers exploited Kohli’s weakness and limited his run-tally to just 190 runs at an average of 23.75 in eight innings as India failed to defend BGT with a 3-1 series defeat.
“With his continued failures to avoid nibbling at the deliveries around the off-stump, he failed to make the contribution that could have boosted the total,” Gavaskar said about Kohli’s form.
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