Former India captain Virat Kohli has been found in the dock after his aggressive ‘shoulder bump’ to Australian debutant Sam Konstas on Day 1 of the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Thursday. There was speculation that Kohli’s action could lead to a possible ban in the fifth and final Test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) next week.
But to the cheer of Indian cricket fans, Kohli has escaped any censure but has been fined 20 per cent of his match fees and handed one demerit point to his record for his actions on Thursday at the MCG. The 20 per cent fine means that Kohli will have to pay Rs 9 lakh out of his Test match fees of Rs 45 lakh.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have increased the Test match fees for cricketers from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 45 lakh per year. Cricket is a non-contact sport, and the ICC’s Code of Conduct (CoC) explicitly prohibits physical altercations. Article 2.12 of the CoC states:
“Any form of inappropriate physical contact is prohibited in cricket. Without limitation, players will breach this regulation if they deliberately, recklessly, and/or negligently walk or run into or shoulder another player or umpire,” the ICC rule states.
Kohli and Konstas come together and make contact
#AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/adb09clEqd
— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 26, 2024
“When assessing the seriousness of the breach, the following factors (without limitation) shall be taken into account: (i) the context of the particular situation, including, without limitation, whether the contact was deliberate (i.e., intentional), reckless, negligent, and/or avoidable; (ii) the force of the contact; (iii) any resulting injury to the person with whom contact was made; and (iv) the person with whom contact was made.”
The incident occurred at the end of the 10th over on Day One when Kohli shoulder-nudged Konstas in front of a crowd of 90,000 at the MCG. This led to a verbal exchange between the players, with Usman Khawaja stepping in to defuse the tension. Kohli’s actions sparked immediate backlash, with former Australian captain Ricky Ponting urging the ICC to take disciplinary action.
“Virat walked one whole pitch over to his right and instigated that confrontation. No doubt in my mind whatsoever,” Ponting said on Channel Seven.
“Fielders should be nowhere near the batsman at that stage. Every fieldsman on the ground knows where the batsmen will congregate and get together. It looked to me like Konstas looked up really late and wouldn’t even know anyone was in front of him. That man on-screen there (Kohli) might have a few questions to answer.”
Virat Kohli can be handed one-Test ban if…
Right now Kohli’s only has one demerit point to his record for the year. The points are carried forward to a rolling two-year period. If a player accumulated 3 to 4 demerit points, he can be banned for 1 Test of 2 T20s/ODIs. For 7 to 8 demerit points, a player will be banned 2 Tests of 4 ODIs/T20s.
Which means Kohli has to keep his actions in check going forward. If he adds a couple of demerit points to his record in this ongoing fourth Test against Australia at the MCG, he can still be banned for the SCG Test starting on January 3.
Team India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja had accumulated six demerit points back in 2017 and had been banned for one Test vs Sri Lanka.
Earlier this year, Kohli’s teammate Jasprit Bumrah had also been reprimanded and handed one demerit point for intentionally standing in way of England batter Ollie Pope in a Test match in Hyderabad. It was Bumrah’s first offence in 24-month period and he accepted the ruling but wasn’t fined anything for his indiscretion.
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