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Australia's young opener Sam Konstas was welcomed by Virat Kohli to Test cricket with a shoulder bump at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). After the on-field altercation, Konstas' old video of revealing Kohli as his idol made rounds on social media. While Kohli did not give Konstas an inch as the latter did damage with the bat and roused up the Australian crowd, the veteran wished him good luck for the Sri Lanka tour once the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 came to an end.
“I had a little chat after the game telling him that I idolise him, and it’s obviously a huge honour playing against him,” Konstas said in a conversation with CODE Sports.
“When I did verse him, I was like, ‘wow, Virat Kohli is batting.’ He just had that presence about him, all the Indian crowd getting amongst it. Chanting his name. It was quite surreal.
“He was very down to earth. A lovely person and just wishing me all the best saying hopefully I go well on the tour of Sri Lanka he said if I’m in.
“My whole family loves Virat. I’ve idolised him from a young age and he’s a legend of the game.”
When Konstas saw a full-house MCG
The 19-year-old made his debut in Melbourne and went on to score a half-century. Konstas revealed getting amazed by the jam-packed MCG when he walked out to bat.
“It was my first time playing in front of 90,000 people on day one at the MCG and I was like, ‘holy crap, this is surreal,” Konstas said.
“Playing against legends of the game like Kohli and Bumrah and playing with legends like Steve Smith and Pat Cummins, it is what I’ve dreamt of as a kid and I was just trying to soak up every second of it really.
“I’m very fortunate as a 19-year-old to be getting that experience and learning from the best.”
Konstas' next appearance
Konstas is one of the batters allowed by Cricket Australia to play a few Big Bash League (BBL) games before heading to UAE for a preparatory camp. He will play under the leadership of Sydney Thunder captain David Warner. He will be seen in action in red-ball cricket starting January 29 in Galle against Sri Lanka.
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