Kohli fined, handed demerit point for on-field behaviour

Wednesday, 17 January 2018 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

PRETORIA (Reuters) - The International Cricket Council (ICC) has sanctioned India captain Virat Kohli for repeatedly complaining to the umpires about a damp ball and then aggressively throwing it to the floor during the second test against South Africa in Pretoria.

Kohli has been fined 25 percent of his match fee and received one demerit point for what the ICC described as constant complaining, followed by him angrily throwing the ball to the floor on the third day of the contest.

“Monday’s incident happened in the 25th over of South Africa’s second innings when Kohli continued to complain to umpire Michael Gough about the ball being affected by a damp outfield following a rain delay, before throwing the ball into the ground in an aggressive manner,” the ICC said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Level 1 offence carried a maximum penalty of a fine of 50 percent of his match fee and two demerit points.

Earlier in the day, Kohli scored a magnificent 153 to keep India in contention in the second test, having lost the opening match of the three-game series by 72 runs in Cape Town.

It is not the first time that Kohli has fallen foul of the ICC. He was fined 30 percent of his match fee in 2014 following an altercation with Australia’s Steve Smith following a rejected lbw appeal against Rohit Sharma.

He was also fined 30 percent of his match fee for showing dissent after being given out in a one-day international against Pakistan in 2016.

Should a player receive four or more demerit points within a two-year period, these are converted into suspension points. A suspension point amounts to a ban from one test or two ODIs, or two T20Is, whichever come first.

Kohli has picked up his first demerit point for this period.