Sam Konstas and Jasprit Bumrah.© AFP
The 19-year-old Australia opener Sam Konstas had an eventful time as he made his debut in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024/25. The youngster showed aggression aplenty, both with the bat and with his demeanour on the field. He also faced a fair bit of aggression and sledging from Team India, particularly Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah. Kohli was even fined for getting involved in a shoulder-barging incident with Konstas. New South Wales coach Greg Shipperd – under whom Konstas plays in domestic cricket – slammed the actions of Kohli and Bumrah.
In the fifth Test, Bumrah and Konstas were involved in a heated war of words. Usman Khawaja had taken fairly long to get ready to face Bumrah’s delivery, and then a word from Konstas kicked off an aggressive exchange between him and Bumrah.
“He (Konstas) or the circumstance got under the skin of Jasprit (Bumrah) and the team response was super aggressive towards him,” Shipperd said to Fox Sports.
“I think it was a disgraceful act and should have been punished far more severely than it was,” Shipperd said of Bumrah.
Shipperd also maintained that Konstas may have been surprised by the Indian players behaving aggressively towards him.
“I don’t know if he (Konstas) thrives on it. I think it surprised him,” Shipperd said.
Bumrah enjoyed a superb series, picking up 32 wickets in five games, equalling the record for the most wickets by a bowler in a single Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. However, while most batters struggled against him, Konstas’ aggressive approach right from his debut perhaps helped Australia overcome the fear to a degree, and made Bumrah rethink his strategy.
On debut, Konstas took the attack to Bumrah. The 19-year-old smashed Bumrah for his first two sixes in Test cricket in nearly four years, and took 14 and 18 in two different overs off him.
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