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On Thursday, December 26, star Indian batter Virat Kohli faced the heat of the moment as he was involved in an on-field altercation with 19-year-old Australian debutant Sam Konstas. The incident took place early on Day 1 of the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 in Melbourne.
At the end of the 10th over, Virat Kohli bumped shoulder with Konstas at the MCG in Melbourne. The collision escalated into a heated exchange, forcing Australian veteran batter Usman Khawaja and umpire Michael Gough intervening to mediate it. However, Virat Kohli was soon sanctioned with a fine from the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Kohli was fined 20 per cent of his match fee after breaching Article 2.12 of the ICC Code of Conduct. “The Article 2.12 of the ICC Code of Conduct 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 statement from ICC read.
Why Virat Kohli was not suspended following his on-field altercation with Sam Konstas?
To understand why Virat Kohli was not suspended following his on-field altercation with Australian debutant on Day 1 of the fourth BGT Test, it is important to under the Article 2.12 of the ICC Code of Conduct. The Article 2.12 deals with “inappropriate physical contact with a player,” categorising these offences as Level 1 of Level 2 breaches, depending on the severity of the incident.
A breach of Article 2.12 can be differentiated into four levels, taking into account the following factors, “(i) the context of the particular situation, including, without limitation, whether the contact was deliberate (i.e. intentional), reckless, negligent, and/or avoiadable; (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.”
According to the ICC Code of Conduct, when a player reached four or more demerit points with a 24-month period, they are converted into suspension points and a player is banned. But in case of Virat Kohli, this is his first demerit point that he has logged since 2019 and thus escaped a ban. If the 36-year-old was involved with the umpire and had made a physical contact with the umpire of match referee, it would have been a Level 3 or 4 offence, involving much stringent punishment and a possible ban.
