WATCH: Months Before Boxing Day Clash, Sam Konstas Picked Virat Kohli As Favourite Cricketer Over Steve Smith

India are currently taking on Australia in the much-awaited Boxing Day Test vs Australia at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). The hosts were on top on Day 1 of the encounter finishing with 311/6 at stumps. One of the stars on Day 1 was 19-year-old Sam Konstas who made his Test debut for Australia, and slammed a swashbuckling half-century. During this innings, Konstas was at the receiving end of the infamous aggression of Virat Kohli. The star Indian batter seemed to push the youngster with his shoulder while walking across the pitch, while also exchanging a few choice words. Amidst this incident, an old video regarding Konstas' admiration for Kohli has gone viral.

In an interaction with ICC during the U-19 World Cup in 2024, Sam Konstas, who was part of the Australia squad in the tournament, partook in a game of This or That. He was given a plethora of choices including players like Chris Gayle, Yuvraj Singh and Joe Root. He stayed with Steve Smith as his ultimate choice, till Virat Kohli's name popped up in the final round. He picked Kohli over Smith as his favourite cricketer to close out the game.

Watch it right here:

Virat Kohli was punished by ICC was his altercation with Sam Konstas. he was fined 20% of his match fees as he narrowly escaped being banned. He was also handed one demerit point after breaching the ICC code of conduct.

"Any form of inappropriate physical contact is prohibited in cricket. Without limitation, players will breach this regulation if they deliberately, recklessly and/or negligently walk or run into or shoulder another player or umpire. When assessing the seriousness of the breach, the following factors (without limitation) shall be taken into account: (i) the context of the particular situation, including, without limitation, whether the contact was deliberate (i.e. intentional), reckless, negligent, and/or avoidable; (ii) the force of the contact; (iii) any resulting injury to the person with whom contact was made; and (iv) the person with whom contact was made," Article 2.12 of ICC's Code of Conduct states.

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