The Australian media has made a 180-degree U-turn on its remarks about Virat Kohli.
On the first day of the Boxing Day Test, the Australian media referred to debutant opener Sam Konstas’s altercation with Virat Kohli, calling Kohli a “joker” and a “clown.” This is the same media that previously referred to him as “Holy Kohli.”
In the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, India, under Kohli’s captaincy, won the series 1-2. However, on the first day of the fourth Test of the current series being played in Melbourne, Kohli got into a confrontation with debutant Australian opener Sam Konstas, which drew criticism.
Read More: Indian media outraged over Kohli being called a "joker, clown."
The 19-year-old Australian opener Sam Konstas batted exceptionally well, scoring 60 runs on the opening day of the Test.
At the end of the 10th over, Virat Kohli and Sam Konstas collided shoulders, leading to an argument. However, Usman Khawaja and the umpires intervened to diffuse the situation.
Following the incident, Virat Kohli was fined only 20% of his match fee and given one demerit point as a warning.
On Friday morning, the Australian media used highly inappropriate words about Kohli in their newspapers, which were starkly different from the praises they had previously showered on him.
The Australian media referred to Kohli as a "joker" and a "clown" in their publications, and one image even showed him with a baby’s pacifier in his mouth.
Read More: Virat Kohli clashes with a young Australian batsman, faces harsh criticism.
In the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Virat Kohli has played 28 matches with 48 innings, scoring 2,141 runs at an average of 52.56. He ranks fifth among the greatest cricketers, with nine centuries and five half-centuries during this period.