The Border-Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia might have ended with Pat Cummins and Co winning the series 3-1. However, the altercation between Sam Konstas and Jasprit Bumrah on Day 1 at the Sydney Cricket Ground continues to make headlines after India coach Gautam Gambhir fired back at Australia.
Earlier, Australia coach Andrew McDonald accused India of intimidating the 19-year-old Sam Konstas on the opening day of the Sydney Test. As the matter continues to escalate, Stuart Broad’s seven-year-old comment is now going viral. In it, he talked about how Australia starts to ‘moan’ when things don’t go as per their convenience.
The matter started with Sam Konstas trying to get under the skin of Jasprit Bumrah at the non-striker’s end minutes before the close of play on Day 1. Bumrah did not appreciate the teenager for having something to say to him.
Bumrah dismissed Usman Khawaja soon after, and the Indian lineup headed towards Konstas to celebrate the wicket. Andrew McDonald called out the behaviour and accused India of “intimidating” Konstas.
Gambhir then fired back at his Australian counterpart, saying, “Look, it’s a tough sport played by tough men. You can’t be that soft. That’s as simple as it can get. I don’t think there was anything intimidating about it. He (Konstas) had no right to be talking to Jasprit Bumrah when Usman Khawaja was taking time. He had no right and no business to be involved with Jasprit Bumrah.”
What did Stuart Broad say?
In March 2018, Stuart Broad brutally assessed the Australian lineup as TV cameras captured Cameron Bancroft using a foreign object on the ball during the Cape Town Test, which is now known as the Sandpaper Gate.
During a press conference, the then-Australian captain Steve Smith said this was the first time that his team used a foreign object on the ball. He then discussed how Australia did the same during the 2017-18 Ashes series.
Broad also accused the then-Australian coach, Darren Lehmann, of hypocrisy. During the series against Proteas, Lehmann had claimed that the Newlands crowd had been “disgraceful” by abusing his players.
The former England pacer then referred to how Lehmann, during the 2013 series, asked the Australian crowd to heap abuse towards Broad and send him “crying” back home.
“That’s your word, not mine, but I would agree with you. You look at the quotes from that 2013 interview – where he [Lehmann] basically asked a country to send an opposition player home crying. I didn’t. We lost the series, but it didn’t make me cry – and I quite enjoyed the series. I then can’t understand why you’d come out and moan about a different country and what they’re saying to their players,” Broad said at a press conference when England were playing a series against New Zealand.
“I’ve always been a bit of a believer in sport, if someone looks you in the eye you look them back in the eye; if someone wants to take you on verbally, then they’ve started that fight [so] you’re allowed to say something back. Just from the outside, it looks like Australia have started a lot of fights and then [are] moaning when someone comes back,” he added.
