Virat Kohli, who is often seen wearing his emotions on his sleeve, was once again seen bringing his emotions out in Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) match against Gujarat Titans (GT) in IPL 2024. However, the 35-year-old Indian batter has been fined once after his breach of IPL Code of Conduct in match against Kolkata Knight Riders, but he is unlikely to get banned after imitating Harshit Rana’s celebration.
Virat Kohli was seen giving a send-off to Shahrukh Khan after dismissing the latter by a direct hit on Saturday, May 4 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. IPL’s Code of Conduct, in its Article 2.5, states, “Using language actions or gestures which disparage, or which could provoke an aggressive reaction” are part of the breach.
Earlier, Harshit Rana was found guilty after breach the Article 2.5 IPL Code of Conduct for a similar kind of celebration and his second send-off saw the pacer get a one-match ban and an additional fine. Speaking of Kohli, if he is indeed found guilty, it will be the Indian batter’s second breach. But if so happens, he is not in danger of being banned for RCB’s next game against Punjab Kings, set to be played on May 9 in Dharamsala.
Why Virat Kohli is unlikely to be banned?
While Article 7 of the IPL Code of Conduct states that sanctions are to be imposed for breach but Clause 7.3 states that if a player has one previous offence, they face “the imposition of a fine of between 50-100% of the applicable match fee and/or a suspension of up to two matches”. Here the previous clause clarifies that this applies to breaches of the same article.
While Kohli’s first breach came under Article 2.8 which implies to showing dissent at an umpire’s decision during a match, he is likely to be fined for Article 2.5 for his flying kiss gesture.