India’s batting legend Virat Kohli has been punished for his recent confrontation with Australia’s debutant Sam Konstas during the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. Kohli was involved in an ugly shoulder collision with Konstas during the first day of the Test match.
The confrontation looked ugly at the first instance as both the batters were seen exchanging a few verbal volleys with each other. A punishment was expected from the match referee Andy Pycroft and it turned out to be correct.
Also read: Sam Konstas faces vicious online abuse after physical altercation with Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli punished for a confrontation with Sam Konstas
According to Cricbuzz, Virat Kohli has been fined 20 percent of his match fees for his confrontation with Sam Konstas. Kohli has admitted to the offence by the match referee Andy Pycroft and didn’t appeal against the decision. Kohli has also been handed just one demerit point.
After hearing with match referee Andy Pycroft, Kohli admitted to the offence and was docked 20 per cent of his match fee for an altercation with Sam Konstas. #INDvsAUS #BoxingDayTest
— Vijay Tagore (@vijaymirror) December 26, 2024
If there are four demerit points, a player can be banned from the next match. As a result, Kohli does not face a suspension which will be a big relief for India.
What are the rules for making a contact during a game?
It is to be noted that cricket is not a contact sport and there are rules for making body contact within a game. The article 2.12 of CoC reads:
“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.
“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.”
What was the incident involving Virat Kohli and Sam Konstas?
The whole 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 end of 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 move towards Konstas. Both Kohli and Konstas collided shoulders with each other while walking past each other.
Kohli stopped and looked back at Konstas for a few seconds before throwing a few verbal volleys at him. Konstas didn’t stop himself and replied back as his batting partner Usman Khawaja tried to calm things down by engaging between them.
Even the umpire had to step in to calm things down later. It is to be noted that Sam Konstas had earlier Virat Kohli as his idol. The incident will be etched in his memories for a long time.
