- Australian newspaper brutally mocked Indian cricket star Virat Kohli
- Kohli received a sanction from the ICC after an altercation on Thursday.
- He had controversially appeared to bump shoulders with Sam Konstas.
The West Australian brutally mocked Virat Kohli on Friday morning, branding the Indian cricket great ‘Clown Kohli’ in the wake of his knock against debutant Sam Konstas on Boxing Day.
Kohli accepted that his blow on the 19-year-old opening batsman’s shoulder breached the ICC Code of Conduct relating to “inappropriate physical contact with another player”.
However, his ban left many outraged – the 36-year-old was fined 20 per cent of his match fee and also given a demerit point. Some thought it was too lenient, and many believed the penalty should have been raised to a Level Two offense which would have docked Kohli three or four demerit points, which would likely have resulted in a suspension for the New Year’s Test in Sydney.
The dramatic moment was criticized by many commentators, including former Australian captain Ricky Ponting and former India star Ravi Shastri, who called the moment “totally unnecessary”.
Kohli is yet to comment on the matter. Konstas seemed to ignore the moment, before hitting 60 runs off 65 deliveries in what was an epic first innings in which he bowled Jasprit Bumrah twice.
On Friday morning, The West Australian carried the story on its back page with the headline “Clown Kohli”.
The Western Australian newspaper led Friday morning with the headline “Clown Kohli” on its back page and featured an image of the clown-nosed Indian great.
Kohli was also seen staring at a fan after he was dismissed on the second day of the Boxing Day Test.
The newspaper published a photo of the former Indian captain, but superimposed a clown’s red nose on Kohli’s face.
Below that, the newspaper had also printed a photo of Kohli making contact with Konstas with his shoulder on the wicket.
The subheading of the article, written by the outlet’s chief of sports staff, read: “Indian Sook hit by a pathetic knock in a teenager’s dream Test debut.”
It is not the first time Western Australia has scathingly attacked a touring cricketer. In 2023, Western Australia also appeared to call Ben Stokes a baby. The England Test captain had been photoshopped in a diaper and sucking on a pacifier, as he lay next to a cricket ball and the urn of ashes.
It came in the wake of the explosive second Ashes Test at Lords, in which Jonny Bairstow was controversially stumped by Alex Carey, leading to major fallout both on and off the field.
The Australian newspaper called England “whiners” and added two subheadlines to the page: “Poms take complaining to new level with ‘cheating’ nonsense.”
Kohli, who had clashed with reporters at Melbourne airport earlier in the week, vented his fury at fans as he walked to the MCG dressing room after being dismissed by Scott Boland and Alex Carey for 36 runs.
A video emerged online showing the India captain appearing outraged by a member of the crowd, walking down the tunnel before returning to have a long stare-down with a fan.
Ben Stokes previously responded to The West Australian after they branded England ‘crybabies’
The moment Kohli (left) shoulder-bumps Sam Konstas (right) as the 19-year-old raced to an impressive 60 on his Boxing Day Test debut.
It was a disappointing day for Kohli, who was dismissed by Scott Boland for 36 runs.
With the series tied 1-1, Australia enjoyed a good start to the fourth Test, with Pat Cummins’ side coming into the center of the MCG to bat first.
Steve Smith followed up his Brisbane feat with another big score of 140 off 197 deliveries, while Marnus Labuschagne improved on his recent run-scoring records to reach 72 off 145.
India would reach the crease on the second day of the Boxing Day Test, with Yashavsi Jaiswal run out for 82, while KL Rahul was bowled by Pat Cummins for 24.
With Australia setting a score of 474 in the first innings, India could only manage 164-5 when the officials called for stumps on the second day.