Aussie newspaper brutally mocks Virat Kohli with it’s back page branding the India great ‘Clown Kohli’

The West Australian brutally mocked Virat Kohli on Friday morning, calling the Indian cricket great ‘Clown Kohli’ in the aftermath of his clash with debutant Sam Konstas on Boxing Day.

Kohli accepted that his shoulder bump on the 19-year-old opening batsman was in breach of the ICC Code of Conduct regarding ‘inappropriate physical contact with another player’.

However, his sanction had caused outrage: the 36-year-old was fined 20 percent of his match fee, while also receiving one penalty point. Some felt it was too lenient, with many believing the sanction should have been upgraded to a level two offense which would have earned Kohli three or four demerit points, likely resulting in a ban from the New Year’s Test in Sydney.

The dramatic moment was condemned by many commentators, including former Australian captain Ricky Ponting and ex-Indian star Ravi Shastri – who called the moment ‘totally unnecessary’.

Kohli does not want to comment on the issue yet. Konstas seemed to shrug off the moment before smashing 60 runs off 65 deliveries in what was an epic opening innings, featuring Jasprit Bumrah twice.

On Friday morning, The West Australian ran the story on their back page with the headline ‘Clown Kohli’.

Kohli was also seen staring at a fan after being dismissed on day two of the Boxing Day Test

The newspaper printed a portrait photo of the former India captain but had placed a red clown’s nose on Kohli’s face.

Below that, the newspaper had also printed a photo of Kohli making contact with Konstas with his shoulder on the wicket.

The subtitle of the article, written by the outlet’s chief of sports staff, read: “Indian sought SLAMMED for pathetic bump in teen dream test debut.”

It is not the first time that The West Australian has taken a scathing swipe at a traveling cricketer. In 2023, West Australian Ben Stokes also appeared to mention a baby. They had photoshopped the England Test captain wearing a diaper and suckling a doll while lying next to a cricket ball and the ash urn.

It came in the wake of the explosive second Ashes Test at Lords, in which Jonny Bairstow was controversially defeated by Alex Carey, leading to huge fallout both on and off the field.

The Australian newspaper called England ‘crybabies’ and added two subtitles to the page: ‘Poms take whining to a new level with ‘cheating’ nonsense’.

Kohli, who clashed with reporters at Melbourne airport earlier this week, expressed his anger at fans as he walked to the MCG dressing rooms after being dismissed for 36 runs by Scott Boland and Alex Carey.

A video emerged online showing the Indian captain appearing to be enraged by a member of the crowd as he walked through the tunnel before returning for a long stare with a fan.

Ben Stokes previously hit back at The West Australian after they branded England ‘crybabies’

The moment Kohli (left) bumps his shoulder into Sam Konstas (right) as the 19-year-old raced to a stunning 60 on debut in the Boxing Day Test

It was a disappointing day for Kohli, who was dismissed for 36 runs by Scott Boland

With the series level at 1-1, Australia got off to a fine start to the fourth Test, with Pat Cummins’ side stepping into the middle of the MCG and batting first.

Steve Smith followed up his ton in Brisbane with another big score of 140 from 197 deliveries, while Marnus Labuschagne improved his recent series figures to 72 from 145.

India would run into trouble on day two of the Boxing Day Test, with Yashavsi Jaiswal bowled out for 82, while KL Rahul was bowled by Pat Cummins for 24.

While Australia posted a score of 474 in the first innings, India could only manage 164-5 when the officials called stumps on day two.