Virat Kohli has been fined 20 percent of his match fee following an incident during India’s fourth Test match against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The altercation occurred on Thursday, December 26, where Kohli was observed shouldering Australian debutant Sam Konstas in the first session of the day.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) issued a statement confirming that Kohli’s actions constituted a breach of Level 1 of their Code of Conduct. Thankfully, there was no need for a formal hearing, as Kohli accepted the penalties set forth by match referee Andy Pycroft.
According to Article 2.12 of the ICC’s Code of Conduct, inappropriate physical contact with players, officials, or any other individuals during an international match is not acceptable. The match officials, including on-field umpires Joel Wilson and Michael Gough, along with third umpire Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid and fourth umpire Shawn Craig, brought forward the charges against Kohli.
