Boxing Day Test: India superstar Virat Kohli's nightmare week in Melbourne continues

Australian legend Ricky Ponting empathises with Virat Kohli’s nightmare week after the fiery Indian great was taunted by supporters when walking off the MCG.

For the second-straight day, Kohli was at the centre of drama in the Boxing Day Test.

After falling for 36 to Scott Boland late on Friday, the star batter was heckled by fans as he exited the field.

The 36-year-old was almost down the players’ tunnel, but he turned around and glared at spectators.

An ICC (International Cricket Council) official then walked over to Kohli and escorted him away from the crowd.

Only minutes before he was out, Kohli was involved in a chaotic run out that led to young gun Yashasvi Jaiswal being dismissed for 82, triggering a collapse of 3-7.

Former players have been split on who was to blame for the mix-up, but Australian spinner Nathan Lyon called it “one of the best barbecues I’ve ever seen”.

It came after Kohli was penalised by the ICC for his day-one shoulder bump on Australia’s teen debutant Sam Konstas.

Unlike the run out, Kohli was entirely to blame for that incident.

The flashpoints come days after he took exception to local media when he arrived in Melbourne, mistakenly believing his children were being filmed.

Ponting, who was also often a fiery character on the field during his playing days, said fan-taunting “shouldn’t happen anywhere”.

“But it is going to happen. It is going to happen everywhere around the world,” Ponting said on the Seven Network.

“If I had have turned back every time I left the field in the UK there would have been incidents left, right and centre.

“You turn up watch the game, enjoy the game, you don’t need to be saying anything to the players.

“The thing with him, the situation he is in, the pressure he is under he will be hearing every little bit of negativity right now.

“He won’t be thinking about the good stuff, he won’t be thinking about the good luck he is having, and he will be hearing every little negative thing that is coming his way. We have all been there.

“You find yourself in that situation especially when you are overseas on away tours and your team is under pressure.”

Melbourne Cricket Club chief executive Stuart Fox said he had spoken with ground security following Kohli’s near-incident with fans as he walked off, adding there was no official complaint from India.

“You’re never comfortable, just when you have fans heavily engaging with a player,” he told SEN.

“A bit of heckling happened, late, and Kohli has obviously popped his head back.

“I’d be concerned if it was really abusive and any physical contact or abuse, that’s pushing the boundaries.”

Fellow former Indian Sunil Gavaskar was unimpressed that Kohli had been booed.

“The question that I always ask is what have you done in your own life that you feel that you have the authority to boo an achiever like that? That was completely uncalled for,” Gavaskar told the Seven Network.