Australia’s 19-year-old opener Sam Konstas accepted responsibility for an on-field spat with Jasprit Bumrah on Day 1 of the Sydney Test.

Konstas exchanged words with Bumrah before the final ball of the day was bowled.

Bumrah — the calmest of players — was visibly annoyed with Usman Khawaja, who was deliberately taking time to take strike in order to ensure that another over wouldn’t be bowled before stumps.

Bumrah made his frustrations clear, prompting a response from Konstas at the non-striker’s end.

The verbal dual escalated, forcing Umpire Sharfuddoula to step in and keep the legend and the young opener away from each other.

A fired-up Bumrah then struck off the final delivery of the day as he had Khawaja caught in the slips by Virat Kohli and followed it up with a big stare in the direction of Konstas, who meekly walked back to the Aussie dressing room.

‘Oh, I didn’t get too fazed. Unfortunately, Uzi (Khawaja) got out. He was trying to buy some time a little bit. It was probably my fault, but it happens. It’s cricket,’ Konstas told Triple M.

He lauded Bumrah’s composure and skill for not getting swayed with the emotions despite the clash.

‘Credit to Bumrah. He got the wicket, but obviously great performance from the team.’

Devajit Saikia and Prabhtej Singh Bhatia are set to be elected BCCI secretary and treasurer, respectively, unopposed on January 12 after being the only two names featuring in the final list of contesting candidates.

The list of contesting candidates was prepared by BCCI electoral officer and former CEC of India, Achal Kumar Joti, on Tuesday. 

The window to file the nominations ended last week while deadline to withdraw nominations ended at 2pm IST on Tuesday. Since there were no withdrawals, the electoral officer published the list of contesting candidates at 5pm on Tuesday.

The election will be held on the sidelines of the SGM on January 12 and the result, which is now a formality, will be announced on the same day.

Saikia has been working as the interim secretary of the BCCI since Jay Shah took over as the ICC chairman on December 1.

Bhatia filed the nomination for the treasurer’s post after the post was left vacant by Ashish Shelar, who recently took oath as a cabinet minister in the Maharashtra government.

A group of British lawmakers urged England to boycott their Champions Trophy match against Afghanistan next month, saying the country’s cricket board (ECB) needed to take a stand against the Taliban’s crackdown on women.

Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021 it has clamped down on the rights of women and girls, restricting their access to education and work, curbing their freedom of movement, and forcing them to cover their faces and bodies.

Women and girls have also been barred from sports and gyms, a breach of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) rules. The Afghanistan women’s team was also disbanded, with several members fleeing the country after 2021.

England are scheduled to face Afghanistan in a group-stage match on February 26 in Lahore, Pakistan.

A letter signed by more than 160 politicians on Monday called for England’s players and officials to speak out against the treatment of women and girls in Afghanistan.

“We also urge the ECB to consider a boycott of the upcoming match against Afghanistan in the ICC Champions Trophy Group stage on February 26th to send a clear signal that such grotesque abuses will not be tolerated,” the letter added.

ECB chief executive Richard Gould responded by calling for a uniform approach from all member nations towards Afghanistan’s participation in international cricket.

“The ECB strongly condemns the treatment of women and girls in Afghanistan under the Taliban regime,” Gould said.

“The ICC Constitution mandates that all member nations are committed to the growth and development of women’s cricket. In line with this commitment, the ECB has maintained its position of not scheduling any bilateral cricket matches against Afghanistan.

“While there has not been a consensus on further international action within the ICC, the ECB will continue to actively advocate for such measures. A coordinated, ICC-wide approach would be significantly more impactful than unilateral actions by individual members.”

England previously faced Afghanistan at the 50-overs Cricket World Cup in 2023, as well as at the Twenty20 World Cup in 2022.

Last year, Australia called off a T20 series against Afghanistan citing the deteriorating human rights situation for women.