Kohli gets one demerit point for breach of ICC code

Virat Kohli has been fined 25 per cent of his match fee besides receiving one demerit point for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct during the third day’s play in the second Test against South Africa at Centurion on Monday.

In a release issued here on Tuesday by the ICC, the Indian skipper was found to have breached Article 2.1.1 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, relating to “conduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game.”

The incident happened in the 25th over of South Africa’s second innings when Kohli continued to complain to on-field 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.

The Indian players weren’t happy with the damp conditions that forced them to remove R Ashwin from the attack and took the swing out of their armoury. Indian paceman Jasprit Bumrah had made his displeasure clear about situation after the day’s play on Monday.

“The ball was swinging a little bit but the field being wet, both sides of the ball got wet. The ball wasn’t swinging anymore. So we asked the umpire ball is getting wet so what do we do. We wanted the ball to be dry so what do we do next,” he had said.

After the day’s play, according to the release, 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.

The charge was levelled by on-field umpires 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.