Virat Kohli and Tim Paine exchange some words on the field
And this arrogance to reply to the sledges came with the help of Virat Kohli, India’s greatest Test captain of all time. Even after he stepped down as the captain of the team, he didn’t stop his aggression, whether it was in a home game or away. Out of all of his moments of aggression, the best came on Australian soil, as we take a look at some cricket scandals involving Virat Kohli and the Australian team on its own home soil.
Indian fans do know how much Virat Kohli has been protective of his family, which includes his wife Anushka Sharma and two kids. It should be noted that despite Virat Kohli being the most popular cricketer all over the world, he has not put his kids in front of the camera, showcasing that he needs some privacy when his family is around.
Various Australian cricketers have faced the wrath of Virat Kohli, but no one thought it would be the Australian media to face the same. An incident took place during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024/25, involving Virat Kohli and a journalist, who tried to capture Kohli along with his family at the airport.
Virat Kohli was heading towards Melbourne for the Indian team’s upcoming match in the series at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. At the airport, he spotted some cameras waiting for him to arrive, but he was with his family at that time. Since he has not allowed the internet to see the faces of his children, he surely didn’t want it to happen in Australia, too.
The Australian TV Journalist said:
It was upon seeing the waiting cameras that Kohli became a little heated over what is largely a misunderstanding when he thought the media was filming him with his children.
Indian fans thought that it was right for Virat Kohli to argue with the journalist, as he was being filmed without his consent.
According to the reports, Kohli lashed out at the journalists by saying, “With my kids I need some privacy, you just can’t film without asking me”. It was also reported that the journalist tried to convince Virat Kohli that they were not filming his kids or his family, and without escalating the situation, both parties went on to clear the same.
This incident involving Virat Kohli and the Australian media received mixed reactions, as the Indian fans supported Virat for his actions against the media and his protectiveness towards his family. On the other hand, the Australian media criticised Virat for his behaviour towards the journalists, leading to an off-field scandal.
Having a Border-Gavaskar Trophy being played in Australia, without any aggressive moments from Virat Kohli, seems like watching a batsman play without a bat. Such an incident also took place when Kohli took over as the captain of the Indian cricket team after MS Dhoni announced his retirement during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2014.
In a Test match, Australia had taken the upper hand over the Indian bowlers early, and Steven Smith looked set on the crease with David Warner. Often when the Indian bowlers came towards Smith, he picked up the ball intentionally, which meant in a way to tamper with the ball conditions. Although the Indian team warned Smith about it a number of times, he sought to ignore it every moment.
In a delivery against Rohit Sharma, he did the same, and some words were exchanged between Rohit and Smith at that time. Rohit didn’t like the words used by Steven Smith towards him and aggressively asked him to repeat what he had said to him at that time. But Smith once again tried to get under his nose by shaking things off like he did earlier.
But this time, Rohit Sharma was not alone, as he was being led by the most aggressive captain in the history of the Indian team, Virat Kohli. Knowing that Smith is trying to get under the nose of his teammate, Virat Kohli, who had just taken over the captaincy of the Indian cricket team, stepped up for Rohit Sharma.
He immediately went towards Steven Smith, and both of them had a heated debate. It escalated to such an extent that even David Warner, who stood at the non-striker’s end, had to jump in between Smith and Kohli. This ensured that he was able to save his teammate from facing the wrath of King Kohli. Both umpires were also quick enough to step in, as Kohli and Smith went away without making the matter escalate further.
Later in the Press Conference, Virat Kohli said that he told Smith to be within his limits and not to irritate his teammates again in the future. On the other hand, Steven Smith didn’t say much about the incident, as he said that he wasn’t fazed enough by all that Kohli and Rohit said to him on the crease.
Even in his last Test match on Australian soil, Virat Kohli made sure that he left his mark with aggression. During the final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024/25, he not only went against the Australian team but also went on to troll the Australian fans with his gestures.
In the last game, Rohit Sharma pulled himself out of the team, and Jasprit Bumrah, who was leading the side, was also ruled out due to an injury. This left Virat Kohli to lead the Indian team for the remaining days of the game, and everyone knew they would be watching his aggression as he led the side once again.
The Indian bowlers once again found their spark over the Australian batsmen under his captaincy, as the team was able to take quick wickets. With the day coming to an end, various Australian fans started to wonder whether Virat Kohli is having sandpaper hidden in his shoes or not. Although he didn’t have any, the quick turnover by the Indian bowlers made them question the King.
After day 2, a few videos emerged on the internet where a paper or a cloth seemed to have popped out of Virat Kohli’s shoe. Virat Kohli, known for his savage replies, waited for the next day to arrive, so he could answer the Australian players and the crowd at the same time.
When Virat Kohli was fielding, the chants continued from the Australian crowd, taunting the Indian team. But, Virat Kohli responded well by showing them his empty pockets, and he also mimicked the ball tampering incident which took place in the Test series involving South Africa and Australia. Following that incident in 2018, three Australian players, Steven Smith, David Warner, and Cameron Bancroft received a two-year ban.
In this way, Virat Kohli didn’t only shrug off all the allegations towards him by the Australian fans of ball tampering, but he also reminded them of the darkest phase their cricket team had in 2018. No one knew it would be his last game on Australian soil, but the way he ended his career in Australia with his epic replies still remains the best moment for Indian fans.
No one has been able to escape the heat of Virat Kohli, whether it is the young stars of the Australian team or even experienced players such as Mitchell Johnson, Steven Smith, or more. The recent player who made a debut in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Sam Konstas, also didn’t escape the heat of Virat Kohli.
During the fourth Test, which was being played at Sydney, Sam Konstas was ready to make his statement against India, where he especially wanted to smash Jasprit Bumrah for sixes. However, he didn’t know he would be crossing paths with the former Indian captain, Virat Kohli, which could lead to an altercation for him in his debut game.
After the 10th over came to an end, Virat Kohli and Sam Konstas moved towards each other to change sides, but during the process, they had a shoulder bump. Virat Kohli didn’t like it and immediately went to confront Sam Konstas, which led to an exchange of words between both of them. However, Usman Khawaja, who stood at the other end with Konstas, immediately stepped in to ensure things wouldn’t escalate further.
The umpires also stepped in quickly to put both players away from each other, maintaining the spirit of the game. Later, Virat Kohli was fined for breaching the ICC code of conduct, and no formal proceedings took place for the same, as Kohli also said that it was his fault to be involved in the heat of the moment.
The Australian debutant, Konstas, also said:
I think the emotions got to both of us. I didn’t quite realise; I was doing my gloves, then [there was] a little shoulder charge. But it happens in cricket.
Even after this interview, the reactions by the Indian and Australian players came out to be mixed. Ravi Shastri and Ricky Ponting said that the actions taken by Virat Kohli were sort of unnecessary.
Things did escalate a lot more when the Australian media took over the newspaper front pages to troll Virat Kohli for being a crybaby against Sam Konstas. This led to the argument between Kohli and Konstas being extended once again towards the Australian media, taking the edge in this matter.