Former Australian cricketer Brad Hogg He criticized head coach Andrew McDonald for his comments on India's “scary” celebration towards the debutant's opener Konstas himself In the Sydney test. Brad Hogg rejected Andrew Macdonald's comments, suggesting that calling them intimidation was a bit of a stretch.
Controversy erupted during the fifth Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test after Usman Khawaja was dismissed in Australia's first innings. Jasprit Bumrah Sam and Constas were involved in a verbal exchange before dismissal. Bumrah gave Konstas a sharp look after taking the wicket on the last ball of the first day.
The way India celebrated was very scary – Andrew MacDonald
The Indian players, looking excited, celebrated Khawaja's wicket by standing in front of Konstas, who was at the non-striker's end. Andrew Macdonald criticized India's celebration after Khawaja's dismissal, saying: “Obviously the way India celebrated that was very frightening.”
Australia won 3-1 series Winning the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. Sam Konstas scored 113 runs in four innings at an average of 28.25. Konstas is expected to retain his place in the squad for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka, with Australia aiming to prepare him for the home Ashes series in late 2025.
This is a bit of an exaggeration – Brad Hogg
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Brad Hogg disagreed with Andrew McDonald's comments. Hough noted that Konstas had previously been involved in skating for Indian fighters. The former cricketer said Konstas should be prepared for similar treatment in return.
“The coach came out and said that the Indian players were scaring Konstas and that there was a mental health issue. I think that's a bit exaggerated,” Hogg said on his YouTube channel.
“If you want to say a few words to the opposing team, and you want to hit balls for four, and walk over and give the player a serve on the way back to the mark, you're going to have to sit there and tune it out,” he added on the way back as well.
Sam Konstas had a sensational Test series debut, which included a controversial shoulder barge incident with Virat Kohli during the Boxing Day Test. After the altercation, Kohli was fined 20% of his match fee and given a penalty point.
Coach shouldn't talk about Indian intimidation – Brad Hogg
Brad Hogg said Andrew McDonald should focus on preparing his players for such incidents, rather than defending them publicly. Hogg also stated that MacDonald should not discuss India's “intimidation”, but should instead coach Constas on how to respond to opposition actions.
“A coach shouldn't talk about Indian intimidation. A coach should talk to his player about how he handles the opposition team's retaliation rather than defending him because if you want to give it up, you have to get it back too,” Hogg added in the same video.
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