19-year-old Australia opener Sam Konstas has quickly become the talk of the town. Just two Test matches into his career, Konstas’ aggressive approach has seen him have both verbal and cricketing clashes with several India players. While Konstas and Virat Kohli clashed shoulders in the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Melbourne, he had a war of words with India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah in the fifth Test in Sydney. Legendary Indian batter Sunil Gavaskar has now drawn an interesting comparison, finding a parallel between Konstas and a young Virat Kohli.
On Day 1 of the fifth Test, Konstas and Bumrah exchanged words after Usman Khawaja took a long time to fix his stance, keeping the bowler waiting.
Konstas’ approach has led to him facing occasional sledging from the Indian cricketers, and his style has reminded Gavaskar about Kohli in his youth.
“It’s not about the batting; it’s about what happens on the field when someone’s behaviour stirs things up. It reminds me of a young Kohli who is upfront and provocative, drawing reactions from the opposition,” said Gavaskar on the situation, speaking to India Today.
Konstas set the tone right from his first innings on Test debut. The 19-year-old took on Jasprit Bumrah, smashing him for first two sixes in Tests in nearly four years. One of them was a reverse scoop, no less.
“Konstas has suddenly become a figure who gets under the skin of the opposition. He did it in the first innings when no one expected it, and in the second innings, Bumrah had the perfect reply by getting him out,” Gavaskar added.
However, Gavaskar warned that Konstas should not get carried away by this reputation, which would in turn make him an easy target for opponents.
“I think Konstas might be getting a bit carried away with this new persona. Even Shane Watson, who knows him well, has remarked that this behavior is surprising, as Konstas is usually a quiet and reserved person. It seems like his teammates may have encouraged this aggressive approach, but it’s something he’ll need to manage as his reputation grows. Whether in the short term or long term, if Konstas continues to be seen as a stirrer, he’ll be the one the opposition targets,” Gavaskar said.
Konstas has managed scores of 60, 8 and 23 so far in three innings against India.
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