Kevin Pietersen extends special support for Virat Kohli amidst an Aussie backlash for the latter

A huge divide between Australian media and the Indian experts or the Indian media is now visible to the entire cricketing fraternity. It all started after the ‘shoulder charge’ controversy involving the Indian batting stalwart Virat Kohli and the teen Aussie debutant Sam Konstas. The incident took place on the first day of the ongoing Boxing Day Test at the MCG.

Kohli’s ‘shoulder charge’ towards Sam Konstas received huge flak from the former cricketers, experts and the fans of the game, especially the former Australian cricketers and their newspapers. Even the man of Ricky Ponting’s attitude and on-field aggression in his active cricketing career also found the audacity to criticize Kohli saying that he ‘instigated’ the confrontation.

Amidst all this, former England captain and one of the batting greats of his era, Kevin Pietersen has extended a special support for Virat Kohli amidst all-around criticism for the latter. Pietersen came up with a post from his official X handle (formerly Twitter). In this post, the former England international displayed an unconditional solidarity with the former India skipper for initiating entertainment.

“Virat creating theatre down under! Let’s GO! Imagine how boring it would be without the showman! And he’s earned EVERYTHING with his runs over his career!” wrote Pietersen in his X-post.

Furthermore, the 44-year-old also rated Virat Kohli very highly compared to a lot of contemporary cricketers who are playing in the current era of cricket.

“Many would end their successful international careers with a 1/4 of what he’s achieved,” he added later.

Here’s a look at the Kevin Pietersen’s X-post for Virat Kohli:

Virat creating theatre down under! Let’s GO!
Imagine how boring it would be without the showman! And he’s earned EVERYTHING with his runs over his career!
Many would end their successful international careers with a 1/4 of what he’s achieved….

— Kevin Pietersen🦏 (@KP24) December 27, 2024

Besides, Kevin Pietersen’s support, former Australia cricketer and now commentator Kerry O’Keeffe also apologize to Virat Kohli for calling the latter ‘arrogant’ on the day 1 of the Boxing Day Test. O Keffe came up with this comment after Kohli’s confrontation with the Aussie debutant Sam Konstas.

“Kohli has built his whole career on arrogance. Suddenly, he identified that in a debutant and seemed to resent it,” said Kerry O’Keeffe on-air during commentary on day 1.

However, the 75-year-old couldn’t stand or stick to his words even for more than 24 hours and extended his apology saying, “I want to apologize for calling Virat Kohli's behaviour arrogance. I shouldn't have said that. He has got a swagger and plays his cricket like that. I think when he saw another player showing swagger like him, he got a bit annoyed and reacted in that fashion. Kohli is a passionate cricketer and his aggression is what makes him a competitive cricketer.”