Andrew McDonald on India’s ‘intimidation’ of Konstas: Checked in with Sam to make sure he was okay

Andrew McDonald on India’s ‘intimidation’ of Konstas: Checked in with Sam to make sure he was okay

Australia coach Andrew McDonald expressed concern for Sam Konstas after his latest confrontation with India, suggesting that the International Cricket Council (ICC) has effectively allowed the visitor’s “intimidation” tactics against the young opener.

No Code of Conduct charges are believed to have been filed by the ICC after India captain Jasprit Bumrah confronted Konstas at the non-striker’s end following Usman Khawaja’s dismissal on the final ball of day one in the ongoing Sydney Test.

In a previous incident during the Melbourne Test, Virat Kohli was fined 20% of his match fee for bumping into Konstas. Kohli was also among the Indian fielders who surrounded the 19-year-old as he walked off the field in Sydney.

Konstas had reportedly provoked Bumrah with aggressive remarks while defending Khawaja, who had been accused of deliberate time-wasting to avoid facing more overs in fading light.

Speaking to reporters, McDonald said, “I checked in with Sam to make sure he was okay. India’s celebration was clearly intimidating, and we have a duty of care to ensure our players are in the right mindset to perform.”

He added, “While everything was within the Laws of the Game and no charges were laid, having the opposition swarm a non-striker like that raises questions. We just wanted to ensure Sam was in a good headspace for the next day.”

“It’s clear that it’s acceptable because there were no fines or punishments,” McDonald further said.

“I’ll leave that up to the ICC and obviously Andy Pycroft being the match referee and the umpires out there.

“If they thought that it was satisfactory, then I suppose that’s the benchmark we’re playing amongst.”