Australian media has once again targeted Indian batter Virat Kohli following a recent incident with a female Australian journalist Nat Yoannidis at Melbourne airport. Channel Nine’s Tony Jones described Virat Kohli as a “bully” and lambasted him for “berating” the Channel 7 reporter in the altercation.

On Saturday, Kohli expressed his frustration with camera crews outside the Melbourne airport arrivals lounge as he arrived for the Boxing Day Test. He confronted one film crew, stating, “With my kids, I need some privacy, you can’t film without asking me.” He wants privacy when it comes to his family.

“They Were Doing What We Do on a Daily Basis” – Tony Jones

Both Channel 7 and Channel 9 confirmed that Kohli’s children were not filmed at the Melbourne airport. Tony Jones, whose colleague Nat Yoannidis was present, criticized Kohli’s actions. Jones explained that the reporters were simply doing their job by capturing footage of public figures.

“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,” Jones said.

“You’re Nothing But a Bully” – Tony Jones on Virat Kohli

Tony Jones said that Virat Kohli was upset that cameras were focused on him. He pointed out how Kohli singled out the female reporter, accusing him of bullying someone much smaller than him. Jones expressed his frustration with Kohli’s treatment of Yoannidis.

“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.”

Tensions between the Indian team and Australian media are escalating ahead of the Boxing Day Test. During a press conference at the MCG, Ravindra Jadeja only responded in Hindi to questions from Indian journalists.

This left Australian reporters frustrated, as they requested answers in English. The press conference ended abruptly after just nine minutes. The Indian media team later said that the session was exclusive to the traveling Indian media, despite Australian journalists claiming they were also invited.

India will lock horns with Australia in the fourth Test of the five-match series at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Thursday, December 26. It is worth mentioning that the Border-Gavaskar series is tied at 1-1.

Also read: ‘You can see on TV’: Virat Kohli’s childhood hero on Daryll Cullinan’s ‘Rohit Sharma is overweight’ remark