The Legend of Sweet Potatoes in India Virat Kohli was punished for his recent confrontation with Australiahis debutante Konstas himself during the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. Kohli was involved in a nasty shoulder collision with Konstas on the first day of the Test match.
The encounter looked ugly in the first instance as both the batsmen were seen exchanging some verbal salvos with each other. A penalty was expected from match referee Andy Pycroft and it proved to be correct.
Read also: Sam Konstas faces vicious abuse online after physical altercation with Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli punished for a clash with Sam Konstas
According to Cricbuzz, Virat Kohli has been fined 20% of his match fees for his clash with Sam Konstas. Kohli admitted the offense by match referee Andy Pycroft and did not appeal the decision. Kohli also received a single demerit point.
After questioning with match referee Andy Pycroft, Kohli admitted the offense and received 20% of his match fee for an altercation with Sam Konstas. #INdVSAuS #BaxandnMrdayTeSt httpS://t.ca/2CeVHkAVHe
— Vijay Tagore (@vijaymirror) decembeR 26, 2024
If there are four demerit points, a player may be excluded from the next match. As a result, Kohli is not facing a suspension which will be a big relief for India.
What are the rules for establishing contact during a game?
It should be noted that cricket is not a contact sport and there are rules for making body contact within a game. Article 2.12 of the CoC provides:
“Any form of inappropriate physical contact is prohibited in cricket. Without limitation, players will be in breach of this rule if they deliberately, recklessly and/or negligently walk or bump into another player or referee.
“In assessing the seriousness of the violation, the following factors shall be considered (without limitation): (i) the context of the particular situation, including, without limitation, whether the contact was deliberate (ie, intentional), reckless, negligent. , and/or avoidable (ii) contact force;
What was the incident involving Virat Kohli and Sam Konstas?
The entire incident happened after the end of the 10th over in Australia's first innings on the first day of the Boxing Day Test. After the over, Konstas was looking at the pitch and Kohli walked towards him with the ball in hand.
The 36-year-old even changed directions to head for Konstas. Both Kohli and Konstas bumped into each other while passing each other.
Kohli stopped and looked back at Konstas for a few seconds before firing a few verbal salvos at him. Konstas didn't stop and responded as a batting partner Usman Khawaja he tried to calm things down by engaging with them.
Even the referee had to step in to calm things down later. It is worth noting that Sam Konstas had Virat Kohli as his idol earlier. The incident will remain engraved in his memories for a long time.