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Addressing the Kohli-Konstas episode at the MCG, Gautam Gambhir said such incidents keep happening on the cricket field, so it’s unnecessary to make an issue out of it.
Virat Kohli speaks with Sam Konstas after the two bumped shoulders. (AP Photo)
The heated altercation between Virat Kohli and young batter Sam Konstas grabbed all the eyeballs during the Boxing Day Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Making his Test debut for Australia, the 19-year-old smashed 60 off 65 balls, making a notable contribution to Australia’s mammoth score. But more than his batting flair, the encounter with Kohli became the bigger talking point.
The incident happened on the opening day of the fourth Test at the MCG when Kohli walked towards Konstas and bumped him on the shoulder. The duo were involved in a heated exchange afterwards, with the on-field umpire and Khawaja intervening. In the aftermath of the incident, Kohli was fined 20% of his match fee and was handed a demerit point by the ICC for a Level One breach of the ICC code of conduct following the fiery face-off.
India head coach Gautam Gambhir addressed the issue after the conclusion of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on Sunday, which the visitors lost 3-1. Speaking at the post-match press conference on Sunday, he said such incidents keep happening on the cricket field, so it’s unnecessary to make an issue out of it.
“I think whatever has happened is history,” said Gambhir at the press conference. “And as I said it’s a tough sport made by tough men and these things happen. I don’t think we need to make a lot of big issues about it, it is not that only these incidents have happened in this series, it has happened in the past as well. A lot of Australian players have done that. A lot of Australian players in the past have done that as well. So I think we are just making big issues about these things.”
The Indian head coach further stated that facing a quality side like India will be a big lesson for youngster Konstas going ahead in his career.
“Test cricket is all about improving every day and sometimes you can’t just go out there and keep smashing from ball one. You’ve got to respect the ball and the cricket as well. Hopefully, he learns from his experiences. When you’re playing against a high-quality attack like India, this will be a great learning curve for him going forward,” Gambhir added.
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Sydney, Australia
