‘Double standards’: Irfan Pathan, Sunil Gavaskar slam Australian pundits over Virat Kohli bashing during Boxing Day Test

On By Littum




Former Indian cricketers Sunil Gavaskar and Irfan Pathan have not held back in expressing their fury over the portrayal of Virat Kohli in an Australian newspaper. After his shoulder barge incident with Australian debutant Sam Konstas, Kohli was branded a “clown” by ‘The West Australian’ newspaper and was further humiliated with a caricature of his face drawn with a red nose. Speaking on Day 2 of the fourth Test, Pathan and Gavaskar said that unless something is said now, such a trend of disrespecting Indian cricketers will continue in the Australian media.

“Australian newspapers, media and even some ex-cricketers are the definition of two-faced. First they go and call Virat Kohli ‘The King’, but the moment he shows any aggression, he is labeled this way. Double standards” , Pathan said on Star Sports.

“None of us supported the incident, but we left it to the officials. But here they would first call him ‘The King’ and then immediately call him a ‘Joker’ after that? You want to sell, you want to make cricket popular, but on at the expense of Virat Kohli’s market value. We will not accept this,” Pathan added.

Pathan stated that such incidents against Indian cricketers have been happening continuously for several years and will continue to happen if people from Indian cricket and media do not speak up.

Pathan gave an example of how he had been punished despite an argument and verbal abuse hurled at him by former Australian cricketer Damien Martyn.

“When I was fined for the first time, I had just clapped while Damien Martyn was hurling an insult. But I was the one who could be seen on camera clapping and I was fined. Damien Martyn got away unscathed,” Pathan said.

Sunil Gavaskar echoed Pathan’s comments.

“This is old news. It’s always ‘if we do it, it’s OK, if you do it, it’s a crime’,” Gavaskar said.

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