World Cup 2019: Virat Kohli on the verge of getting banned ahead of the semi-finals

After their win against Bangladesh on July 2, India became the second team to book their spot in the semi-final of the 2019 World Cup. The ‘Men in Blue’ have been on a roll and have won six out of their eight league games (one loss and one washout).

After remaining unbeaten for six games in a row, their only blip came against England. But they soon got back to the winning ways beating Bangladesh and got back on track. Thus, they are comfortably placed at the second spot in the points table. A win against Sri Lanka in their last game will give them a chance to finish at the top of the table.

It is no secret that the Indian captain Virat Kohli is an aggressive competitor. He is in the face of the opposition most of the times and loves to celebrate every wicket and he does so wildly.

Arguing with umpires? Kohli should think twice now

He was seen arguing with umpire, Marais Erasmus in the game against Bangladesh after a DRS call went against India. The third umpire found inconclusive evidence on an LBW call whether the ball hit the pad first or the bat and ruled it in favour of the on-field decision. It didn’t go down well with Virat Kohli and he decided to talk to Erasmus who had made the on-field call.

In India’s fifth group game against Afghanistan, he was fined for excessive appealing. Virat Kohli saw a 25% cut from his match fees and he also earned a demerit point for breaching ICC’s code of conduct. This was his second demerit point in the two-year period. He had received one for his aggressive behaviour towards the umpires during a Test match in South Africa in January 2018.

If a player gets a total of four demerit points in a two-year period, it is converted into a ban of one Test, two ODIs or two T20Is, whichever comes first. Hence, Kohli needs to be careful in the game against Sri Lanka, else he could miss the semis and the finals (if India qualify).