T20 World Cup 2022: Bangladesh vice-captain accuses Virat Kohli of fake fielding; here is what law says about it

Virat Kohli is a live wire on the field without any doubt, however, his intensity could have proved to be a disaster for India in the recently concluded Super 12 fixture against Bangladesh in the T20 World Cup 2022. The 33-year-old was accused of trying to attempt ‘fake fielding’ and Bangladesh wicketkeeper-batter Nurul Hasan tried to convey to the on-field umpires that they had missed the incident.  

Had the on-field umpires felt Kohli had intentionally deceived the batters in the middle while running between the wickets, five penalty runs would have been awarded to the batting team while the ball would have been called dead. Notably, India won the tight encounter by just five runs by the D/L method but there was a possibility of the Men in Blue ending up on the losing side.  

The incident took place in the seventh over just before the rain break while Litton Das was playing a blinder of a knock. Das nudged one into the vacant gap in the cover's region on the back foot and straightaway was determined to run a double. Arshdeep Singh covered ground and threw back the ball to the striker’s end when Kohli was spotted in the point region doing a fake throw at the non-striker’s end. 

The incident could have been costly for India had the umpires noticed it as the laws of the game do not allow ‘deceptive fielding’ or ‘fake fielding’. 

Here’s what the law says on Fake fielding 

"The deliberate distraction, deception, or obstruction of the batter" according to Law 41.5, the on-field umpires had the power to award five penalty runs if they had felt Kohli violated the regulations. The star batter survived the incident and India managed to inch closer to a place in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2022 with three wins in four games now.

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