Indian coach Gautam Gambhir has hit back at remarks from Australian counterpart Andrew McDonald in response to Sam Konstas’ heated altercation with rival captain Jasprit Bumrah, telling his opponents “you can’t be that soft”.
Watch every game of the BBL live and ad-break free during play on Kayo. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer.
Day one of the New Year’s Test at the SCG ended in dramatic circumstances when umpires were forced to intervene as Konstas and Bumrah butted heads near the non-striker’s end.
The Indian players swarmed Konstas after Bumrah dismissed Australian opener Usman Khawaja on the final delivery of the day, with McDonald criticising the “intimidating” behaviour the following afternoon.
“My conversation to (Konstas) was just around whether he’s okay. Clearly the way that India celebrated that, it was quite intimidating,” McDonald told reporters at stumps on day two.
“To have an opposition swarm the non-striker like that, we have got a duty of care to our player to make sure he’s okay and in a head space to go out the next day and perform.”
Speaking to reporters during the post-match press conference on Sunday afternoon, Gambhir defended the actions of his players and claimed that Konstas “had no right” to talk to Bumrah.
“It’s a tough sport played by tough men,” Gambhir said.
“You can’t be that soft, as simple as it can get. I don’t think there was anything intimidating about it.
“He had no right to be talking to Jasprit Bumrah when Usman Khawaja was (wasting) time. He had no right and no business to be involved with Jasprit Bumrah. That was the job of the umpire.”
MORE CRICKET NEWS
TALKING PTS: Aussie ‘freak’ grows ‘big three’ to four dilemma; next step for teen star
SERIES RATINGS: Bowling blitz that sealed legend; no clear answer to big question
‘BEAU WAS HUGE’: Aussie debutant Webster earns widespread praise for SCG heroics
Konstas vs Bumrah: ‘Heated’ final over | 01:25
Konstas, who stunned India’s bowlers with a dazzling Boxing Day half-century on Test debut at the MCG last week, finished the series with 113 runs at 28.25.
When asked if he believed the Australian teenager had a bright future in the sport, Gambhir continued: “Test cricket is all about improving every day, and sometimes you can’t just go out there and keep smashing from ball one.
“You’ve got to respect red-ball cricket as well, and hopefully (he will) learn from these experiences.
“When you’re playing against a high-quality attack like India, this will be a great learning from him, is for him going forward.”
During the Boxing Day Test, Indian superstar Kohli was fined 20 per cent of his match fee for a needless shoulder bump on Konstas, but Ghambir brushed aside questions about the incident.
“Whatever has happened is history. Whatever has happened, has happened,” Ghambir said.
“As I said, it’s a tough sport played by tough men, and these things happen. I don’t think we need to make a big issue about it.
“It is not only in this series these incidents have happened. It has happened in the past as well, a lot of Australian players in the past have done that as well.”
Kohli scored 190 runs at 23.75 across the Border-Gavaskar Trophy campaign, while Indian captain Rohit Sharma skipped the series finale after accumulating 31 runs at 6.20.
Despite speculation on whether the veteran duo should hang up the boots, Ghambir refused to comment on their future in the Test side.
MORE CRICKET NEWS
‘WOULD HAVE LOVED TO’: Indian legend snubbed from SCG trophy presentation
DYNASTY DELIVERED: Aussies end India era, seal own legacy in rapid Sydney classic
‘CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?’ Smith heartbreak as Kohli loses plot in rogue crowd taunt
Debutant claims Kohli with second catch | 00:50
“It’s up to them,” Ghambir said.
“What I can say is that they still have the hunger, they still have the passion. They’re tough people, and hopefully they can continue to take Indian cricket forward.
“But ultimately, we all know that whatever they plan, they will plan for the best interest of Indian cricket.”
Bumrah, battling a back spasm, was sorely missed on day three of the New Year’s Test as Australia chased an awkward 162-run target for victory to seal a 3-1 series win. The 31-year-old claimed 32 wickets at 13.06 across the summer, the most for an Indian bowler in a Test series on Australian soil.
However, Ghambir reiterated that India was “not dependent on one individual” when asked if the tourists could have won the series finale if Bumrah had been fit.
“I don’t want to say that just because Bumrah wasn’t there we couldn’t get the results,“ Ghambir said.
“It would have been nice if he would have been there, but we still had five bowlers, and a good team is one which is not dependent on one individual.
“We didn’t get the result, as simple as it can get. We lost the series here.”
Discussion about this post