According to sources cricket australia had laid down guidelines and focussed on cultural shift after its reputation was tarnished by the ball-tampering scandal. steve smith and David Warner were handed 1-year bans after they were guilty of tampering a cricket ball in south africa along with cameron Bancroft. Justin Langer took over as the head coach shortly after Darren Lehman stepped down following the infamous scandal. Langer’s primary job was to create a culture in the team that is reflective of the rich legacy of Australian cricket.
The india Test series in 2018-19 came at a crucial juncture as all eyes were on australia team’s behaviour following the ball-tampering saga. However, virat kohli kept going with his in-your-face attitude as india clinched a historic 2-1 series win, outplaying Tim Paine’s australia in all departments of the game. "I remember that afternoon (feeling) like a punching bag. We can't fight back because it felt like we had our hands behind our backs and we just had to take it," Langer said in Amazon’s documentary, ’The Test'.
Justin Langer can also be seen in the dressing room, telling his team to identify the difference between abuse and banter and stick up for their teammates. There is a difference between abuse and banter. There is no room for abuse. We don't need to abuse him but there is banter where you stick up for your mate." On day four of the second Test at Perth, kohli and his Australian counterpart Tim Paine were involved in a verbal spat. That was time Paine thought he had enough. Throughout the 4-match series, virat kohli was involved with banters with australia players. Even wicketkeeper-batsman rishabh pant was at it, constantly chipping at australia players from behind the stumps.
