Ravi Shastri refuses to back Virat Kohli in ‘Sam Konstas’ controversy at MCG

Former Indian national cricket team head coach Ravi Shastri has attacked Virat Kohli over his spat with young Australian cricket team striker Sam Konstas during the ongoing fourth Test of the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He said that it was unnecessary and that he did not want to see it.

Indian national cricket team batsman Kohli grabbed the headlines on the first day of the ongoing fourth test against the Australian national cricket team. The Boxing-day Test between the teams is underway at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne.

Virat Kohli made headlines for his altercation with Sam Konstas on the first day of the MCG Test

Kohli made headlines for his spat with Sam Konstas. It all started after the Australian national cricket team debutant attempted a reverse to Jasprit Bumrah early in the innings but missed a few. This made the Indian batsman laugh at the young batsman as he stood in the slips.

But after that, Sam Konstas pounced on Jasprit Bumrah and also hit some unusual shots. As the batsman continued to play his shots, Kohli did not hesitate to get into the young batsman’s ears as he continued to sledge him.

Virat Kohli and Sam Konstas collided shoulders as they moved around the pitch between overs

But things got more intense after the 10th over when Kohli and Sam Konstas collided shoulders while moving around the pitch between overs. Immediately afterwards, they shared a heated exchange of words before Usman Khawaja and umpire Michael Gough called it quits to separate the batsmen.

Since then, Kohli has become the talk of the town and the striker has also faced a lot of criticism. This was because many were of the opinion that Kohli, as a senior batsman, should not have attacked the 19-year-old, who was making his debut for Australia.

The latest to join the team is former Indian cricket team head coach Ravi Shastri. The commentator feels that Virat Kohli did it unnecessarily as he said that the batsman is a senior player and he was also the captain of the Indian team.

“It’s unnecessary, totally unnecessary – Ravi Shastr on Virat Kohli’s spat with Sam Konstas

Ravi Shastri added that Virat Kohli may have his own explanations for his altercation and issued a warning to the batsman, saying match referee Andy Pycroft would be keeping a close eye on him. Speaking during the match, he explained:

“It’s unnecessary, totally unnecessary. You don’t want to see that. Virat is a senior player, he was the captain of the team. He will have his own explanations for that. But that’s something you don’t want to see.. One person who will be watching, his keep your eyes on the process, Andy Pycroft.”

Konstas himself was a shining light for Australia on day one. The batsman played aggressively and scored 60 runs off 65 balls to help his team have a great day with the bat.

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