Australian Newspaper Mocks Virat Kohli, Depicts Him As Clown; Ravi Shastri Reacts

Former India captain Ravi Shastri expressed that he was not taken aback by the 'over-the-top' reaction of certain sections of the Australian media to Virat Kohli's on-field altercation with 19-year-old opener Sam Konstas during the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.

Shastri explained that the extreme response reflects the frustration of the home team, as they have not won a Test series against India in Melbourne for over a decade.

A clip of the sports page from a prominent Australian newspaper went viral on social media on Friday morning. The headline, "Clown Kohli", was accompanied by an image of the Indian star with a "clown's nose". The article also described Kohli as a "pathetic bump in teen's dream Test debut", referring to Kohli's shoulder contact with Konstas.

Former Australian cricketers also criticised Kohli's actions, condemning the senior batter's gesture, which resulted in sanctions from the International Cricket Council (ICC). Despite speculation that Kohli might face a ban for a Level 2 offence, the Indian batter avoided suspension and was fined 20 per cent of his match fee by match referee Andy Pycroft on Thursday.

"You expect that in a home country. I wish our country would stand up for our players in situations like this in a bigger way. I am not surprised by this at all, simply because Australia hasn't won here in 14-15 years. The last time they won a Test match at the MCG was in 2011. So, when they get an opportunity to go berserk, they will go berserk," Ravi Shastri told Star Sports.

"In many ways, it's a little bit of desperation. You know, you're three matches into the series, the scoreline is 1-1, and you've still not won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. You've got to win at Melbourne. So, all these things creep in," Shastri continued.

"I've been to Australia many, many times. It's like the whole country gets behind the team-not just the crowds, but the media as well. I am not surprised because I see that sense of desperation. If Australia had already been 3-0 or 2-0 up, the headlines might have been different."

"I know where that's coming from. It's built up over a period of time, and it had to come out somewhere. Someone had to be the target. Then they got the opportunity with that physical incident yesterday. They said, 'This is our chance; let's get pens and paintbrushes out and start doing all sorts of things.' You saw that thing on Virat Kohli's nose. I mean, they forgot to paint the seam there-that would have been a ball."

On the subject of Kohli's fine, Shastri also criticised those who argued that the Indian batter should have received a harsher penalty. He stated that the ICC must have followed the proper procedures before determining the fine.

Shastri reflected on the 2018 incident involving Kagiso Rabada and Steve Smith, where Rabada's one-match ban was overturned and reduced to a 25 per cent match fee fine after an appeal. He noted that precedents had already been set for such code of conduct breaches.

"Like I said, the match referee has done his job; the fine has been set at 20% of his match fee," Shastri said.

"There's a precedent. You know, there was a confrontation between Kagiso Rabada and Steve Smith that was more physical. Rabada was charged with a Level 3 punishment, and then he went and appealed. It was brought down to Level 1 and a 20% fine."

"So, there's a benchmark set. The umpires have a record of the players over the last few years regarding how often players have offended the laws. There are some points given there. A voting process takes place, and then they come up with a decision. Then it goes to the ICC technical committee, which makes the final call."

"So, they would have gone through all that. As I mentioned, there must be a benchmark somewhere, and a lot would have had to do with the Steve Smith and Rabada confrontation to bring it down to Level 1 and impose the punishment."

"It's been handed over to the match referee, and you can do nothing about it," Shastri added.

Notably, Ravi Shastri was among the first to condemn Kohli for the on-field incident on Thursday. The former head coach did not hold back in stating that Kohli's actions were unbecoming of his stature.