‘Virat, I am your father’: The West Australian’s back page goes viral in India during Boxing Day Test

The West Australian’s ‘Virat, I am your father’ back page has gone viral, causing a media storm in India and seen by two million people worldwide.

In the midst of a competitive Boxing Day Test in a fiery Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, The Sunday Times newspaper featuring teenage sensation Sam Konstas made headlines internationally — and even proved that our great Australian banter is completely lost on Indian fans.

The back page featured the 19-year-old, who became an instant star with an entertaining 60 on Test debut, with the headline “Virat, I am your father” in the style of Star Wars — a reference to villain character Darth Vader’s famous quote.

It comes after Konstas and Kohli had a run-in on the first day of the fourth Test, with the Indian superstar fined 20 per cent of his match fee by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for his shoulder barge on the debutant.

The Hindustan Times and The Economic Times, two of India’s biggest English-language newspapers, were among the local media to report on the coverage.

The Hindustan Times headline read: “Australian tabloid stoops to new low with ‘Virat Kohli I am your father’ headline, called out by fans.”

“It seems the Australian media cannot get enough of taking potshots at Virat Kohli. A month after being dubbed ‘King’ by one tabloid, Virat Kohli has turned into the number one villain for the same publication,” the article stated.

“Netizens are now calling out the tabloid for disrespecting Kohli, regarded as one of the greatest batters in the modern era.”

The Economic Times ran with a similar headline that stated: “Australian tabloid criticised for low blow at Virat Kohli, fans fire back.”

“The backlash against the provocative headlines has sparked a broader debate about ethics in sports journalism. While competitive banter is a part of cricket, netizens argue that sensationalised coverage undermines the spirit of the game,” the article stated.

Meanwhile, The West’s Sport Editor Jakeb Waddell’s X post alone gathered more than one million impressions, with thousands of re-posts and comments across the social media platform. The post is littered with thousands of angry Indian cricket fans, stating this newspaper had “disrespected” one of the greatest batsmen of all time.

On Friday, The West’s back page featured the headline “Clown Kohli” with a picture of the Indian batter with a red nose, following the incident on Boxing Day.

Daily newspaper The New Indian Express — which has a circulation of more than half a million — hit back at The West’s tongue-in-cheek back page by putting red noses on every Australian player, with the headline: “Clown gang.”

On Saturday, the headline read “Karma” in reference to his first-innings score of 36, which was followed by a run-in with fans as he departed the field at the MCG.

Kolhi was also involved in a mix-up that resulted in Yashasvi Jaiswal dismissal, run out on 82.

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