Last Updated:December 22, 2024, 19:50 IST

‘You’re nothing but a bully, Virat,’ said an Australia reporter on national TV as he reported on the incident took place at the Melbourne Airport, involving the Indian batter.

The Australian media has attacked star India batter Virat Kohli, with a reporter calling him a ‘bully’ on national television. The criticism stems from an incident at Melbourne airport on Thursday when Kohli confronted a female journalist.

The cricketer had arrived for the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series with his wife, Anushka Sharma, and their children. He encountered a different reality in Australia, where public figures can be filmed or photographed without restrictions. Upon noticing the journalist capturing his family, Kohli requested her to delete those videos while permitting her to keep featuring him alone.

While the situation did not escalate further, Tony Jones, a reporter from 9 Sports, harshly criticised Kohli. Jones accused the Indian batter of intimidating the journalist and labelled his actions at the airport as unbecoming, sparking a media backlash.

“Nat was out there with a cameraman, a Channel 7 reporter was out there with his cameraman and they were doing what we do on a daily basis essentially, and that’s be at the airport to actually get identities, whether they’re politicians, whether they’re sporting identities or whatever,” Jones said.

“He took umbrage, he being Virat Kohli, to the fact the cameras were focused on him.

“Well, duh! You’re a batting superstar, you’re a global superstar in the world of cricket, and he takes umbrage to the fact that the attention is focused on him.

“What really got my back up when I saw the footage was that he turned around to the three blokes, the two cameramen and the reporter from Channel 7, and said you guys are OK, it’s her.

“Really? Big tough man, Virat.

“And then he stood over this girl, Nat Yoannidis, who’s about five foot one, five foot two, and just absolutely berated her. You’re nothing but a bully, Virat,” he added.

Aussie Media Unhappy with Jadeja

A day later, the Australian media accused Ravindra Jadeja of addressing a Hindi-only press conference and turning down English questions. Jadeja began taking questions from Indian journalists. Following nine minutes of discussion in the Indian’s native language, the press conference ended as the team bus had to depart. Hence, the player couldn’t stay any longer, according to India’s media manager.

However, some Australian media outlets are claiming that Jadeja refused to answer questions in English. “The Australian media were bemused and confused when the star all-rounder refused to answer questions in English. It was obviously an annoying situation for the journalists who made the effort to turn up,” Channel 7 said in its report.

Location :

Melbourne, Australia