‘He Has No Right...’: Gambhir Fires Back At Australia Coach’s Intimidating Remark
Head Coach Gautam Gambhir In The Press Conference (Source: @7Cricket/x.com)
After an intense Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the cricket world saw not only thrilling action but also fiery sledging. Australian youngster Sam Konstas was seen in high spirits since the Melbourne Test as he got engaged in multiple verbal spats with the Indian players.
As the last Test match of the series unfolded at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Australian coach Andrew McDonald claimed that India tried to intimidate Sam Konstas with their celebration following Usman Khawaja's dismissal on Day 1. As the match ended, Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir came with a sharp reply.
McDonald’s Controversial Comment
On the first day of the Sydney Test, Australia came to bat in their first innings. During the final over, Bumrah-Konstas’ fiery spat grabbed the limelight. After Khawaja’s dismissal, Jasprit Bumrah aggressively moved toward Konstas, and later umpire handled the entire situation. Standing on that point, the Australian head coach charged the Indian side for intimidating Konstas with their way of celebration.
“My conversation with him was around whether he's okay. Clearly, the way India celebrated that was quite intimidating. It's clearly within the laws of the game, the rules and regulations. There's been no charges laid, but to have an opposition swarm the non-striker like that, we've got a duty of care to our player to make sure he's okay and in a headspace to go out there and perform.” McDonald said.
Gambhir’s Sharp Reply
After a decade of dominance, Team India endured a crushing defeat in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. It was a tough pill to swallow as they struggled throughout the series. In the post-match press conference, Indian Head coach Gautam Gambhir was asked about McDonald’s allegation, and the former player came with a sharp reply.
“It's a tough sport played by tough men. You can't be that soft. As simple as it can get. I don't think there was anything intimidating about it. I think he has no right to be talking to Jasprit Bumrah when Usman Khwaja was taking time. He has no business to be involved with Jasprit Bumrah. That was the job of the umpire.” Gambhir Said.
After winning the first Test match with a massive 295 runs margin in Perth, Team India faced endless setbacks as they ended the series with a 3-1 defeat. After a decade, Australia dominatingly snatch the prestigious Border-Gavaskar Trophy. To make matters worse, India’s defeat also sealed their elimination from the race for the WTC final.
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