KARACHI: Australian media labelled Indian cricket star Virat Kohli a ‘clown’ following a shoulder-bump incident with debutant Sam Konstas during the opening session of the fourth Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Thursday.
A Perth-based daily newspaper on Friday, published a digitally-edited image of Kohli with a red nose with the headline ‘Clown Kohli’.
The right-handed batter was also labelled as ‘coward’ or ‘crybaby’ in the strapline of the aforementioned Op-Ed.
The criticism sparked a heated debate, with Indian media outlets interpreting it as an insult to their star cricketer, Kohli.
The incident occurred after the conclusion of the 10th over on Day One when Kohli made physical contact with Konstas in front of a packed crowd of 90,000.
The moment sparked a brief exchange of words between the two players, prompting Australian opener Usman Khawaja to intervene and defuse the tension.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) reviewed the incident under Article 2.12 of its Code of Conduct (CoC), which prohibits inappropriate physical contact in cricket.
The ICC fined him 20% of his match fee and handed him one demerit point.
However, former cricketers and Australian media expressed dissatisfaction with the punishment, calling it too lenient. Some even demanded at least a one-match suspension for the Indian star.
Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting also criticized Kohli's actions, calling them deliberate.
"Virat walked one whole pitch over to his right and instigated that confrontation. No doubt in my mind whatsoever. I have no doubt that the umpires and the referee will have a good look at that. Fielders should be nowhere near the batsman at that stage. Every fieldsman on the ground knows where the batsmen will congregate and get together. It looked to me that Konstas looked up really late, and wouldn't even know anyone was in front of him. That man on-screen there (Kohli) might have a few questions to answer," said Ponting.
Even former Indian coach, Ravi Shastri, expressed disappointment and labeled the act as unnecessary.
“There is a line in cricket, and you don’t want to overstep it. This incident was avoidable,” Shastri said.
Sohail Imran Sohail Imran is a senior reporter for Geo News.- Virat Kohli