NEW DELHI: Australia’s head coach, Andrew McDonald, has voiced concerns over what he described as “intimidating” celebrations by the Indian team during the dismissal of Usman Khawaja on the opening day of the fifth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
The incident occurred when India’s players surrounded non-striker Sam Konstas after taking Khawaja’s wicket. McDonald revealed he had spoken to Konstas following the day’s play to ensure the young batter was in the right frame of mind to continue.
“My conversation with him was just around whether he’s okay. Clearly, the way that India celebrated that, it was quite intimidating,” McDonald said during a press interaction on Saturday.
McDonald noted that no formal charges or fines were imposed on the Indian team, indicating that the celebrations were deemed within the Laws of the Game. However, he expressed bemusement at the incident and its potential impact on Konstas.
“To have an opposition swarm the non-striker like that, we’ve got a duty of care to our player to make sure he’s okay and in the right head space to go out and perform the next day,” McDonald said.
When asked if he believed India had overstepped, McDonald refrained from direct criticism but hinted at broader implications.
“It’s clear it was deemed acceptable since there were no penalties. If the ICC and the Match Referee thought it was satisfactory, then that sets the benchmark for what’s allowed,” he said.
As the Test series reaches its final stages, such incidents have added fuel to the intense rivalry between the two sides, with emotions running high on both ends.
