"Totally unnecessary": Ravi Shastri refuses to support Virat Kohli in 'Sam Konstas' controversy at MCG

Former India National Cricket Team head coach Ravi Shastri lashed out at Virat Kohli for his altercation with young Australia National Cricket Team batter Sam Konstas during the ongoing fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. He said that it was unnecessary and one doesn't want to see that.

India National Cricket Team batter Kohli made headlines on Day 1 of the ongoing fourth Test against the Australia National Cricket Team. The Boxing-day Test between the teams is underway at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne.

Virat Kohli was in the headlines because of his altercation with Sam Konstas on Day 1 of the MCG Test

Kohli was in the headlines because of his altercation with Sam Konstas. It all started after the Australia National Cricket Team debutant attempted to play reverse scoops against Jasprit Bumrah early on in the innings but missed a few. This made India's batter laugh at the young batter while standing in the slips.

However, after that, Sam Konstas attacked Jasprit Bumrah and also hit unorthodox shots. While the batter kept playing his shots, Kohli didn't shy away from getting into the ears of the young batter as he continued sledging him.

Virat Kohli and Sam Konstas bumped shoulders while moving across the pitch between overs

But things got intense after the 10th over when Kohli and Sam Konstas bumped shoulders while moving across the pitch between overs. Immediately after that, they shared a heated exchange of words before Usman Khawaja and umpire Michael Gough interrupted to separate the batters.

Since then, Kohli has become the talking point, and the batter also has faced a lot of criticism. This was because many were of the opinion that Kohli, being a senior batter, shouldn't have had a go at the 19-year-old youngster, who was making his debut for Australia.

The latest to join the bandwagon is former India National Cricket Team head coach Ravi Shastri. The commentator believes that it was unnecessary for Virat Kohli to do that as he said that the batter is a senior player and was captain of the Indian team as well.

"It's unnecessary, totally unnecessary - Ravi Shastr on Virat Kohli's altercation with Sam Konstas

Ravi Shastri added that Virat Kohli might be having his own explanations for his spat and issued a warning to the batter, saying that match referee Andy Pycroft will be having a keen 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's been captain of the side. He'll have his own explanations as regards that. But it's something you don't want to see. One person who will be watching, his eyes will be locked into the proceedings, Andy Pycroft."

Sam Konstas was the shining light for Australia on Day 1. The batter played aggressively and scored 60 runs off 65 balls to help his team have a great day with the bat.

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