IND vs AUS: India’s modern-day great Virat Kohli was slapped with a fine of 20 percent of his match fee and was handed one demerit point by the ICC match referee Andy Pycroft at the end of Day 1 of the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

India’s star batter was reprimanded after he was found guilty of purposefully bumping into Australian debutant Sam Konstans on Day 1 of the Test match. The match referee deemed it a Level 1 offence and awarded Kohli the maximum punishment for such offences: a 20 percent fine and one demerit point.

© cricketcomau

Once the match referee announced his judgment, one would have hoped that the case would be closed, but the Australian media and several of their former players continued to target the Indian great.

Several Australian experts, including their former captain Ricky Ponting, and their media outlets ran a campaign, pressurising the match referee to ban the 36-year-old.

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While Ponting felt that the punishment wasn’t harsh enough, an Australian media outlet named The West Australian crossed all lines by using a disgraceful banner headline, “Clown Kohli,” on the back page.

Some other media outlets also referred to Kohli as a sook (crybaby or coward) for his physical altercation with the Australian teenager.

Australian media choose to use "Clown Kohli" instead of celebrating Sam Konstas debut. This is why Virat Kohli is brand in Australia. Reason to increase the number of sales of newspapers. 🤡#INDvsAUS pic.twitter.com/B1ksAPfgI3

— Akshat (@AkshatOM10) December 26, 2024

One can understand why the Australian media is fuelling this whole issue. It wants to use Kohli’s stardom to increase its sales and visibility.

However, former Australian cricketers, who bullied their opponents throughout their careers, taking a moral high ground makes no sense. When Mitchell Johnson intentionally threw a ball at Kohli’s body during the 2014 tour, no one demanded a ban for him.