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Xtra Time Web Desk: On Friday, a newspaper depicted India star Virat Kohli as a clown after his on-field bust-up with Sam Konstas in Melbourne. Hence former India coach Ravi Shastri said he was not surprised by the over-the-line reaction of the Australian media.

A renowned Australian newspaper went viral on social media having a headline of the piece read 'Clown Kohli' and attaching a photo of the Indian superstar with a 'clown's nose'. Referring to Kohli's shoulder contact with the young Konstas, it stated "Indian sook slammed for pathetic bump in teen's dream Test debut."

Talking about it, Ravi Shastri said to Star Sports, "You expect that in a home country. I wish our country would stand up for our players in situations like this in a bigger way. I am not surprised by this at all, simply because Australia hasn’t won here in 14–15 years. The last time they won a Test match at the MCG was in 2011. So, when they get an opportunity to go berserk, they will go berserk."

"In many ways, it’s a little bit of desperation. You know, you are three matches into the series, the scoreline is 1–1, and you have still not won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

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"You know, you’ve got to win at Melbourne. So, all these things creep in."

"I’ve been to Australia many, many times. It’s like the whole country comes behind the team—not just the crowds, but the media as well. I am not surprised because I see that sense of desperation. If Australia had already been 3–0 or 2–0 up, the headlines might have been different."

"I know where that’s coming from. It’s built up over a period of time, and it had to come out somewhere. Someone had to be the target. Then they got the opportunity with that physical incident yesterday."

"They said, ‘This is our chance; let’s get pens and paintbrushes out and start doing all sorts of things.’ You saw that thing on Virat Kohli’s nose. I mean, they forgot to paint the seam there—that would have been a ball."

Ravi Shastri also called out all those who complained about Virat Kohli not receiving a harsher sanction, stating "Like I said, the match referee has done his job; the fine has been set at 20% of his match fee,"

He also added, "There's a precedent. You know, there was a confrontation between Kagiso Rabada and Steve Smith that was more physical. Rabada was charged with a Level 3 punishment, and then he went and appealed. It was brought down to Level 1 and a 20% fine."

"So, there's a benchmark set. The umpires have a record of the players over the last few years regarding how often players have offended the laws. There are some points given there. A voting process takes place, and then they come up with a decision. Then it goes to the ICC technical committee, which makes the final call."

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"So, they would have gone through all that. As I mentioned, there must be a benchmark somewhere, and a lot would have had to do with the Steve Smith and Rabada confrontation to bring it down to Level 1 and impose the punishment."

"It’s been handed over to the match referee, and you can do nothing about it," Shastri added.