Virat Kohli might land himself in trouble after his deliberate shoulder-bump with Australian debutant Sam Konstas grabbed limelight on the opening day of the fourth Test in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Thursday.
The incident took place during the break between the 10th and 11 over of the Australian innings after the visitors, led by Rohit Sharma, chose to field first after winning the toss.
Sam Konstas and his opening partner Usman Khawaja were changing ends when Kohli, while walking bumped his shoulder with the 19-year-old. The right-handed debutant hit back at the Indian stalwart verbally before Khawaja intervened to separate the two.
Replays showed Kohli was fully aware of where he is walking and deliberately bumped his shoulder with Konstas to play mind games with the latter. Even, former Australia captain Ricky Ponting, remarked Kohli’s intentional shoulder-bumping on air.
According to ICC rulebook, “making inappropriate and deliberate physical contact with another player” is a Level 2 offence and comes under chapter 42.1 of the MCC laws – Unacceptable Conduct.
If the on-field umpires believe that Kohli’s action was deliberate, then they will report to the match referee. The match referee, upon proper examining the matter will then make a final decision.
Provided the umpires and the match referee are on the same page that Kohli’s contact was intentional, the former India captain might face strict sanctions from the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Konstas was finally dismissed by Ravindra Jadeja after scoring a quick-fire fifty on debut. The right-hander scored 60 off 65 balls including six fours and two sixes, both coming off Jasprit Bumrah.
Konstas collected 16 runs off Bumrah’s fourth over as he smashed two fours and a maximum. It was the first six the Indian pacer conceded in Test cricket in nearly four years.
Will Virat Kohli miss Sydney Test?
Level 2 offences carry a penalty of three to four demerit points, with corresponding punishments as follows:
- 50% to 100% match fee fine or 1 suspension point for three demerit points
- Two suspension points for four demerit points
If Kohli is fined four demerit points, he will be suspended either for one Test or two limited-overs matches (ODIs or T20Is). That means Kohli is in risk of missing the fifth and final Test against Australia in Sydney, starting on January 3. However, the Indian team management can appeal the sanction if imposed. The demerit points stay within a player’s record for two years. Kohli hasn’t received one since 2019.
