'If final punishment would've been 10%...': Sunil Gavaskar on Virat Kohli vs Sam Konstas, '83 great says...

Cricket commentator and 1983 World Cup champion Sunil Gavaskar on Friday said that Virat Kohli did not get any special treatment for his physical altercation with debutant Sam Konstas. On Thursday, Kohli was fined 20 per cent of his match fee and handed a demerit point for a face off with Konstas when the two bumped shoulders in the ongoing Boxing Day Test in Melbourne and exchanged words. 

The run-in was initiated by Kohli but the 19-year-old Konstas insisted that their physical contact was accidental. Dismissing claims of Kohli being let off lightly, Gavaskar said that if the final punishment would have been 10 per cent of his match fee, then one could have said that Kohli was favoured.

Gavaskar further remarked on Star Sports after the first session: "You can't hang a man for picking someone's pocket."

"That's a slap on the wrist. All these players are highly paid professionals. Any fines will have to be a deterrent. Yes, you could say that the degree of punishment maybe light because of what we see and experience but that's the maximum punishment decided by the ICC," he pointed out.

Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting, however, begged to differ and said that the punishment was insufficient. 

"Personally, I don't think it was harsh enough. There have been precedents; things have happened in the past, and it generally has been 15-25 per cent fine, but let's have a look at the enormity of the incident," Ponting said on Channel 7.

While doing commentary for Fox Sports, Australian cricket commentator Mark Waugh warned that such incidents have flaring if not dealt with strictly. 

"You can't change direction and shoulder charge. It is just not on. Virat Kohli will look back on that and say, 'I’ve done the wrong thing'. I think the penalty is extremely lenient," he insisted.

He explained that if you such an incident took place when there might be a volatile crowd and players are more volatile on the field it could end up in a place you don't want to see on a cricket field. 

Waugh further said that he is of the opinion that Kohli is lucky to not get away with a suspension and if he has got a fine, it should have been a 75 per cent fine at least. " It has to be a deterrent. 20 per cent is nothing. There is no doubt Sam Konstas rattled the Indians," he said, referring to Rs 3 lakh fine that Kohli would be paying from his Rs 15 lakh match fee.