South Africa vs India: ICC reprimands Virat Kohli for breaching Code of Conduct

Team India skipper Virat Kohli was recently reprimanded by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for a breach of conduct during the ongoing Centurion Test. Reportedly, Virat was found guilty of breaching the ICC’s prescribed Code of Conduct during the third day’s play of the match. He has been slapped with a fine of 25 per cent of his match fee.

Also, he has received one demerit point for having breached the prescribed code. The ICC confirmed the news on their official website. Kohli 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 had perspired in the 25th over of the South Africa‘s second innings in the match. The final session of the play had already seen a rain interruption. When the play resumed after an hour of rain delay, Virat Kohli looked unhappy with the dampness of the outfield.

He was seen complaining to umpire Michael Gough about the ball being continuously affected by the damp outfield. The umpire did not find the argument to be a valid one and hence, opted to let the game progress further. Miffed with this, Virat Kohli threw the ball on the ground in an aggressive manner.

Kohli accepts the charges

After the conclusion of the day’s play, Kohli admitted to the offence and has accepted the penalty imposed by the ICC. Hence, there will be no further hearing on the matter. The charge was levelled by on-field umpires Michael Gough and Paul Reiffel, third umpire Richard Kettleborough and fourth umpire Allahudien Palekar.

As per the official website of the ICC, the rules state that the 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.

Earlier during the day’s play, South Africa managed to keep India’s total 28 runs short of their first innings total. Virat Kohli was the leading run scorer for India with a mighty ton to his name in the innings.

For more development on this and latest cricket news, tune in to CricTracker.