- By Namrata Vijay
- Sun, 29 Dec 2024 01:03 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
IND vs AUS 4th Test: Ex-Australian cricketer Kerry O'Keeffe was seen apologizing after making controversial comments to India's star batter Virat Kohli as he was involved in a physical altercation with Sam Konstas in the Boxing Day Test match in Melbourne. O'Keeffe had initially slammed Kohli for his behavior and reckoned that he had made his whole career on arrogance.
He made these comments after Kohli was involved in an on-field heated exchange with debutant Sam Konstas, where Kohli looked quite aggressive while talking to the youngster.
O'Keeffe made controversial statements on-air and were brutal as he reckoned that Kohli couldn't face another player, who boasts of the same intensity as his.
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On Thursday, he was heard as saying, "Kohli has built his entire career on arrogance. Suddenly he identified that in a debutant and seemed to resend it".
The former cricketer quickly was slammed both by the fans and the experts as they criticized O'Keeffe for the words he used.
O'Keffee then issued his apology and admitted that he shouldn't have called Kohli's aggressive style arrogant and said, "I want to apologize for calling Virat Kohli's behavior arrogant. I shouldn't have said that. He has got a swagger and plays his cricket like that. I think when he saw another player showing swagger like him, he got a bit annoyed and reacted in that fashion. Kohli is a passionate cricketer and his aggression is what makes him a competitive cricketer."
The ICC then fined Virat Kohli 20% of his match fee for his physical altercation with Konstas and for also breaking Level 1 of the ICC code of conduct. He also got one demerit point for his on-field behavior.
