Andrew McDonald has accused India of trying to intimidate teenager Sam Konstas, with Australia‘s coach claiming the ICC have set a benchmark by not punishing the tourists.
McDonald revealed on Saturday evening he moved to check on Konstas’ welfare on Friday night, after his on-field spat with India captain Jasprit Bumrah in the fifth-and-deciding Test at the SCG.
Of particular concern to McDonald was the fact several Indian players ran to celebrate in Konstas’ face after Bumrah dismissed Usman Khawaja on the last ball of day one.
The incident came after Virat Kohli was fined 20 per cent of his match fee in Melbourne on Boxing Day, after making unnecessary contact with the opener between overs.
Asked if he felt the needed to speak to Konstas about the on-field exchange with Bumrah, McDonald said he only did so to check on the 19-year-old.
‘My conversation to him was just around whether he was okay,’ McDonald said.
Andrew McDonald (pictured) has accused India of trying to intimidate teenager Sam Konstas
The Indian team surrounded the youngster after claiming the wicket of Usman Khawaja to end the opening day of the Test
‘Clearly the way that India celebrated that it was quite intimidating. It’s clearly within the rules and regulations of the game, as there have been no charges laid.
‘To have an opposition to swarm the non-striker like that, we have a duty of care to make sure he is okay and in a headspace to go out the next day and perform.’
Asked whether he felt India had taken it too far by running towards Konstas, McDonald suggested a precedent had been set.
‘It’s clear that it’s acceptable because there was no fines or punishment,’ he said.
‘I will leave that up to the ICC and Andy Pycroft as match referee and the umpires out there.
‘If they thought it was satisfactory, then I suppose that is the benchmark we’re playing towards.’
Konstas will likely have a key role to play on Sunday, with Australia looking at a tricky fourth-innings chase with India 6-141 in their second innings and leading by 145.
The day-one incident came after Khawaja had pulled away and made Bumrah wait to bowl as the clock ticked down towards stumps.
Sam Konstas exchanged barbs with Jasprit Bumrah in a heated end to day one of the fifth Test
Konstas has clearly got under India’s skin in his first two Tests
India believed Australia were stalling, prompting Bumrah to raise his arms aloft before he and non-striker Konstas exchanged words.
The pair then walked towards each other, before umpires intervened.
Speaking after play on Friday, Australia’s seamer Scott Boland said he had found it ‘pretty funny’ that a 19-year-old had ‘gotten under the whole Indian team’s skin’.
But India seamer Prasidh Krishna insisted at stumps on Saturday that was not the case, despite him being one of the first players to get in Konstas’ face.
‘I don’t think so. Not yet. We enjoy the way that he plays the game and we would also like to play the game aggressively,’ Prasidh said.
‘Like if we have somebody who comes out and says, ‘I can fight you,’ it’s as a team we want to tell them, ‘you can’t take us for granted, we are all here, the 11 of us versus you’.
‘If you can be as aggressive that’s fine.’
Earlier in the Test match, several former Aussie players suggested Konstas should change his approach.
‘You can understand Usman Khawaja trying to wind the clock down so he didn’t have to face another over, but then you have got Sam Konstas trying to get involved,’ Mark Waugh said.
McDonald said that he has checked in on Konstas since the incident
‘I don’t know whether it is naive enthusiasm or that’s just the way he has always played his game through the juniors and likes to have high energy and get involved in the game, but really there was no need for Sam to get involved there.
‘I think he should have bit his tongue and it’s got nothing to do with him actually and it might have broken the concentration of Khawaja.
‘He might learn from that Konstas. If he keeps behaving like that he is going to have a target on his back for his whole career.
‘I just think he is firing the opposition up. He’s fired up Jasprit. You don’t want to fire him up.
‘I think Sam will reflect on that and think he should have minded his own business and say, I have just got to let the bat do the talking.’
