Reports: Australian journalist lashes out at Virat Kohli over Melbourne airport incident

Star Indian batter Virat Kohli was recently involved in a verbal altercation with a female journalist at the Melbourne Airport. The incident has led to mixed opinions, with some defending Kohli’s actions as a father protecting his family’s privacy while others accused him of overstepping boundaries.

The controversy began when Kohli accompanied by his wife Anushka Sharma and their children, arrived in Melbourne, ahead of the fourth aka "Boxing Day" Test of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT 2024-25). At the airport, Nat Yoannidis, a journalist, was reportedly filming Kohli’s family. Unhappy with his children being recorded, Kohli requested Yoannidis to delete the footage. While he allowed videos and pictures of himself to remain, he firmly opposed not involving his children in public recordings.

He has consistently urged journalists to respect his children’s privacy. However, Tony Jones, a reporter from Nine Sports, accused Kohli of berating and intimidating Yoannidis. Jones mentioned that the veteran batter Kohli targeted Yoannidis, and called him a “bully.”

“Nat was out there with a cameraman, a Channel 7 reporter was out there with his cameraman and they were doing what we do on a daily basis essentially, and that’s be at the airport to actually get identities, whether they’re politicians, whether they’re sporting identities or whatever. He took umbrage, he being Virat Kohli, to the fact the cameras were focused on him.

"Well, duh! You’re a batting superstar, you’re a global superstar in the world of cricket, and he takes umbrage to the fact that the attention is focused on him. What really got my back up when I saw the footage was that he turned around to the three blokes, the two cameramen and the reporter from Channel 7, and said you guys are OK, it’s her. Really? Big tough man, Virat. And then he stood over this girl, Nat Yoannidis, who’s about five foot one, five foot two, and just absolutely berated her. You’re nothing but a bully, Virat," Jones said as quoted by News18.

Ravindra Jadeja addresses press in Hindi

Furthermore, another Indian cricketer, Ravindra Jadeja, faced criticism the next day for addressing a press conference in Hindi. After nine minutes of answering questions in his native language, the conference ended due to time constraints. Australian outlets accused Jadeja of refusing to answer English questions, with Channel 7 describing the situation as “annoying” for attending journalists. However, India’s media manager clarified that the team’s schedule required a brief interaction.

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"The Australian media were bemused and confused when the star all-rounder refused to answer questions in English. It was obviously an annoying situation for the journalists who made the effort to turn up," Channel 7 said in its report.