Former Australia internationals Aaron Finch and Simon Katich feel India star Virat Kohli went "overboard" and "tarnished his reputation" during the recently-concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
The series was won 3-1 by Australia, as the hosts bounced back from defeat in Perth to win in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney – arguably only denied a win in Brisbane by rain.
From an Indian perspective, the hot-button topic was the form of senior batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, with the latter in particular focus thanks to the similarity of his dismissals through the series, as well as his behaviour on the field.
Kohli sparked controversy when he veered off course to shoulder-charge teenage Aussie debutant Sam Konstas on Boxing Day at the MCG – an action which earned him a fine of 20 per cent of his match fee and one demerit point from the ICC.
He was also in the spotlight during the fifth Test in Sydney. Captaining in the absence of Rohit and Jasprit Bumrah, at one point on the field, Kohli turned out his pockets, looked down the front of his trousers and mimicked a gesture of rubbing the ball, in apparent reference to the 2018 'Sandpapergate' scandal, which saw three Australian players cop heavy punishments after being found guilty of ball-tampering.
Virat Kohli, leading in place of Jasprit Bumrah, engaged with the SCG crowd during Australia’s run chase, cheekily gesturing he had no sandpaper with him.
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Finch, Katich: Kohli's sandpaper gesture was unnecessary
Kohli's on-field conduct was not taken well by several Australians, including former internationals Aaron Finch, a one-time teammate of Kohli's at Royal Challengers Bengaluru, as well as Simon Katich, who coached the IPL franchise from 2019-2021.
On Wednesday (January 8), Katich said on ESPN's Around the Wicket show: "There's no doubt he (Kohli) has been a modern great of the game in all formats. But I think you have to question what sort of headspace he's been in on this tour to be doing that, making physical contact in Melbourne and then even the other unsavoury incident in Sydney with the sandpaper reference there with the pockets.
"I mean that in itself – there was no need for that. It's old news so in a way I think he's tarnished his reputation somewhat on this tour, on and off the field."
Also read: SCG pitch branded 'worst ever' by former Australia captain receives 'satisfactory' ICC rating
Finch added: "It was just a level of frustration. I said last week it seemed as though he wanted to find conflict and confrontation – that's where he generally plays his best cricket. So he just went overboard on this tour. The bump, that was above and beyond anything I've seen on a field, and then the sandpaper, unnecessary.
"But overall, I think he was trying to find something to ignite a fire in himself, but just wasn't up to it."
While both men criticised the sandpaper gesture, an explanation suggests it may have not been that Kohli was simply riling up the crowd, but giving as good as he got. The previous evening, theories had done the rounds in Australia about India fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah tampering with the ball when broadcast cameras spotted an object falling out of his shoe as he adjusted his footwear.
Former India off-spinner R Ashwin sought to put that to bed quickly, saying there was no ball-tampering happening and that the object in Bumrah's shoe had been a finger protection pad.
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