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"No Place…" Atherton Reminds Fans Of Kohli's Shoulder To Konstas After Lord's Tussle

Aashay Chopade

Virat Kohli against Sam Konstas (Source:@NoNext_Question/X.com)Virat Kohli against Sam Konstas (Source:@NoNext_Question/X.com)

The third Test of the five-match Test series between England and India at Lord's turned out to be a thrilling contest. The home team won the game by 22 runs, and there were plenty of altercations between the players of the two sides throughout the match.

Various people have come up with different opinions on the tussle between the players, and now Atherton has shared his opinion on the issue. In his column for The Times, the former English batter defended the sledging between the two sides.

Atherton Asks Players To Maintain Physical Boundary

Atherton mentioned that the spectators would like watching such incidents as it shows that the players care for their team and nation. However, he added that the players should not be involved in a physical altercation and cited the example of Virat Kohli's shoulder barge for young Sam Konstas.

During the Boxing Day of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, Virat Kohli, on purpose, decided to shoulder Sam Konstas, which created a lot of controversy at that time. Many labelled Virat Kohli's gesture for young Australian as unnecessary and against the spirit of the game. Atherton now has also supported that logic, while stating that the incident between Jadeja and Carse at Lord's was purely accidental and not intentional.

"Forgive me for degrading the report of a great match with this nonsense, but wouldn't spectators rather see players caring too much, rather than too little, about playing Tests. No one, of course, wants to see physical altercations on the field of play or sustained nasty verbal abuse, Atherton in his column on The Times.


"There should be no place, for example, for the shoulder barge that Virat Kohli initiated in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne last Christmas, when he diverted from his path to deliberately walk into Sam Konstas. In a match where there was plenty of spice and niggle, tempers flared as Carse and Jadeja collided mid-pitch, although the impact was entirely accidental, after Jadeja had deflected the ball towards third man, with both players ball-watching rather than minding each other's path."

Thus, Michael Atherton has emphasised the need to maintain the balance on the cricket field. However, he has also voiced his support in favour of some on-field battles if it doesn't end in a physical altercation.