Virat Kohli penalised for aggressive on-field behaviour

Indian captain Virat Kohli has been penalised by the ICC for his behaviour with on-field umpire Michael Gough on the third day of the ongoing Test against South Africa in Centurion.

Kohli has been fined 25 percent of his match fee and received one demerit point for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct.

He was found to have breached Article 2.1.1 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to “conduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game.”

The incident happened on Monday in the 25th over of South Africa’s second innings when Kohli continued to complain to umpire Michael Gough about the ball being affected by a damp outfield following a rain delay, before throwing the ball into the ground in an aggressive manner.

After the day’s play, Kohli pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by Chris Broad of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees and, as such, there was no need for a formal hearing. Kohli was seen leaving the field with coach Ravi Shastri.

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The charge was levelled by on-field umpires Michael Gough and Paul Reiffel, third umpire Richard Kettleborough and fourth umpire Allahudien Palekar.

Level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand, a maximum penalty of 50 per cent of a player’s match fee, and one or two demerit points.

India were also unhappy when they were taken off for bad light. Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah had struck the bat twice in the over just before that and later said they wanted to continue as they were in good momentum.

This is the first demerit point Kohli has received since system was introduced. If he accumulates four or more demerit points within 24 months of the first such incident, they will convert into suspension points and a ban from a Test or two limited-overs internationals, whichever format he is likely to be selected for comes first.