Kohli's shoulder barge on Australia debutant Konstas could get him in big trouble

The rivalry between India and Australia intensified on the opening morning of the fourth Test at the MCG, as a shoulder-to-shoulder collision between Virat Kohli and Australia's 19-year-old debutant, Sam Konstas, sparked a verbal altercation.

After Australia won the toss and chose to bat, they were comfortably placed at 112/1 by lunch, with Konstas impressing with a fearless 60 off 65 balls. As Konstas continued to take the game to India's bowlers, the on-field proceedings took an unexpected turn when Kohli walked past him at the end of the 10th over, and the two collided shoulder to shoulder.

The collision sparked a brief confrontation, with both players exchanging words. Kohli, clearly irritated, began walking back toward Konstas, but the situation was quickly defused when Usman Khawaja intervened. The experienced Australian batter stood between the two, offering a calming gesture by patting Konstas on the arm and placing a friendly arm around Kohli's shoulder.

"Virat's walked one whole pitch over to his right and instigated that," former Australia captain Ricky Ponting told Australia's Channel Seven.

Ex-England captain Michael Vaughan added on Fox Cricket that Kohli would face scrutiny from the match referee. "It's Kohli that goes off line and he walks into Sam," Vaughan said.

Will Virat Kohli be in trouble?

Match referee Andy Pycroft is set to scrutinise the incident between Kohli and Konstas, with the possibility of a Code of Conduct breach hanging over the two players.

According to the ICC's Code of Conduct, "any form of inappropriate physical contact is prohibited in cricket," and players are expected to avoid reckless or negligent actions such as deliberately or unintentionally making contact with another player or umpire.

If Pycroft determines that the shoulder-to-shoulder collision qualifies as a Level Two offence, either Kohli or Konstas could face serious consequences, including the accumulation of three or four demerit points. Four demerit points would trigger a suspension, potentially ruling the player out of the New Year's Test in Sydney.

A Level One offence, however, would likely result in a lesser penalty, such as a match fee fine, with no further repercussions. The case could draw comparisons to Kagiso Rabada's incident during the 2018 South Africa-Australia Test series, when the South African pacer was initially handed three demerit points for making contact with Steve Smith.

Rabada later had his penalty overturned on appeal.