NEW DELHI: India batting superstar Virat Kohli was fined 20 percent of his match fee and given a demerit point by the ICC for a Level One breach of the ICC code of conduct following a fiery face-off with opener Sam Konstas on the first day of the Boxing Day Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Thursday.
Kohli made forceful contact with the 19-year-old debutant after Konstas belted the India bowlers on his way to a blistering 60 off 65 balls.
It sparked a heated exchange between the duo, with Konstas’ fellow opener Usman Khawaja and umpire Michael Gough intervening.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced on Thursday that Kohli “has been fined 20 percent of his match fee and awarded one demerit point for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct”.
The code relates to “inappropriate physical contact with a player, player support personnel, umpire, match referee or any other person (including a spectator during an international match,” the ICC said in a statement.
“No formal hearing was needed as Kohli accepted the sanctions proposed by match referee Andy Pycroft,” it added.
Legendary India batter Sunil Gavaskar believes Kohli’s fine is just a “slap on the wrist” and hopes that the talismanic batter is not remembered by the cricketing world for this incident.
“That’s just like a slap on the wrist. All these players are highly paid professionals and any fine has to be something which will be a deterrent.
“I do believe that maybe that is in the books that you have to fine X amount, so one can understand that the ICC match referee went by the books and by what the ICC playing conditions are.
“But it has to be somewhere. I just hope that Kohli, being one of the greatest cricketers in the world, is not remembered for this. He has got to be remembered for what he’s done with the bat, how he’s brought energy to cricket in India. That’s what he should be remembered for,” Gavaskar said on Channel Seven.
