Aussie coach lashes out as ICC makes call on sanctioning Bumrah and Kohli over Sam Konstas spat

Australian cricket coach Andrew McDonald has bemoaned the lack of action taken against Jasprit Bumrah and Virat Kohli for their actions towards Sam Konstas in the fifth Test at the SCG. The opening day in Sydney came to an explosive conclusion when Bumrah dismissed Usman Khawaja on the final ball.

Rather than celebrate, Bumrah immediately turned and walked menacingly towards Konstas at the non-striker's end, while a number of Indian players including Kohli screamed in the 19-year-old's face as he walked off the ground. The Indians were fuming over time-wasting tactics that Khawaja and Konstas used to ensure it would be the final over of the day's play.

Bumrah became perturbed when Khawaja held him up at one stage, but Konstas then injected himself into the situation with some choice words for the Indian captain. The situation then threatened to boil over when Bumrah and Konstas walked towards each other, with the umpire having to separate them.

Konstas appeared to tell Bumrah to "get back to his mark", and the Indian skipper didn't appear to take the jibe too kindly. As soon as he dismissed Khawaja he turned on his heel and walked straight towards the teenager at the non-striker's end.

Bumrah could be seen staring daggers at Konstas as he walked off, while Kohli made sure to run straight past the 19-year-old so he could celebrate in his face. It came after Kohli was fined and hit with a demerit point for making physical contact with Konstas in the fourth Test in Melbourne.

Bumrah and the Indians then got the last laugh on Saturday morning when Mohammed Siraj dismissed Konstas for 23 to leave the Aussies reeling at 3-35. Konstas played a number of expansive shots, but fell while playing a big drive.

RELATED:

• Aussies make call on new Test captain as Pat Cummins steps away

• Michael Clarke calls for Aussie star to retire after fifth Test at SCG

Andrew McDonald fumes over inaction from ICC

Speaking after stumps on day two, Aussie coach McDonald was left fuming that the ICC decided against sanctioning any of the Indians. Siraj and Travis Head were sanctioned after a fiery verbal spat following the Aussie's dismissal in Adelaide, and the actions of Bumrah and Kohli would seemingly fall into the same category.

As journalist Andrew Wu of The Age noted on social media: “This is great theatre and all, and Sam Konstas isn’t the dismissed batter, but Virat Kohli and a few of his teammates are treading a fine line with their celebrations here." Under ICC rules, players can be sanctioned for "using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batter upon his/her dismissal."

The actions of the Indian players to get in Konstas' face could definitely fall into this category. When asked if he felt the need 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. "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 if 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."

Ricky Ponting and Tom Moody rip Sam Konstas' actions

Speaking on Channel 7 on Friday evening, Ricky Ponting said Konstas and Khawaja's time-wasting tactics came back to bite them. "I never like playing around with a game of cricket like that," the former Test captain said. "It has a way of coming back and biting you time after time. They tried their best to take time out of the game. And this is what has happened as a result."

On Saturday morning he added: "One guy you don't want to upset is Jasprit Bumrah. The way he's bowled and the fact he has got Khawaja out five times in the series. I didn't like Konstas getting involved. That was not his battle to fight. It was between Khawaja and Bumrah. For the young man there, I hope that there was some talking to from the Australian dressing room last night because he should have stayed out of that, let his senior player handle the last couple of balls."

Former Test all-rounder Tom Moody was also critical of Konstas' actions to insert himself into the situation when it wasn't necessary. All the 19-year-old did was give Bumrah motivation to get his batting partner out.

"Sam Konstas has much to learn," Moody wrote on social media. "I hope the dressing room is offering that guidance without suppressing his confidence and youthful enthusiasm. Usman had it all under control, what he didn’t need was the distraction of having to settle his partner down at the non strikers end!"

Some labelled Bumrah and Kohli's response "embarrassing" and "putrid" and showed they're completely rattled by a 19-year-old in just his second Test match. Others thought the celebrations were poor from India considering they were bowled out for just 185 after winning the toss.