“Virat Kohli should have been banned” - Former England bowler opens up on Sam Konstas controversy in BGT 2024-25

Former England fast bowler Steve Harmison has opined that Virat Kohli deserved a ban for his shoulder barge on Australia's debutant Sam Konstas in Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. The incident took place during the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.

On talkSPORT Cricket, Steve Harmison shared his thoughts on the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 series. Australia won the five-match series by 3-1. There were several talking points from the series, but the biggest was the Virat Kohli vs Sam Konstas controversy.

In the fourth Test, when Konstas dominated Indian pacers on debut, Virat had a shoulder bump with him during the break between overs. Later in the fifth Test in Sydney, Virat gave an aggressive send-off to Konstas when Usman Khawaja got out on the opening day's final ball after the Aussies openers tried to waste time.

"What happened with Kohli there, Kohli was bang out of order. Virat Kohli should have been banned for what he did. You know how much I love Virat Kohli and what he has done for the game but there's a line and you do not cross it," Harmison said. [46.14 onwards]

While Virat Kohli did not receive a ban, the referee punished him by handing him a 20 percent match fee fine in Melbourne. Virat also got a demerit point for the shoulder bump with Konstas.

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Virat Kohli captained India in the final innings of BGT 2024-25

Kohli stepped down as India's Test captain after the away series against South Africa in 2022. He stayed away from the leadership group until the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, where he led the side when both Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah were unavailable.

In the final innings of the fifth Test, Bumrah did not come out to the field due to injury concerns, while Sharma had opted out of the game. Kohli stepped up and led the team, but Australia chased down the 162-run target with six wickets in hand to win the series.