New Delhi: India’s former captain and batting maestro star Virat Kohli has been fined 50 percent of his match fee for an angry outburst against the umpire as a reaction to his dismissal from an Indian Premier League match, the league said Monday.
Kohli expressed his anger during a match while losing his wicket while Royal Challengers Bengaluru was chasing against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Sunday. He was caught and bowled by KKR pacer Harshit Rana whereas his team lost the game by the narrow margin of just one run at Eden Gardens Kolkata.
However, Kohli thought the ball he faced was a high full-toss and above his waist but the TV umpire Michael Gough declared him out after technology suggested the trajectory of the ball dipped below the waist of the batsman. The decision made Kohli furious and he exchanged words with the on-field officials.
After the game, Kohli was fined half of his match fee according to the IPL statement stating that he committed a Level 1 offence under Article 2.8 of the IPL’s Code of Conduct. Later Kohli admitted to the offence and accepted the action against him by the Match Referee.
Later the visuals became viral on social media showed Kohli having a long discussion with an umpire after the match ended. Meanwhile, cricket experts have mixed reactions over the incident as former India batter Navjot Singh Sidhu slammed the call and called for the “rules to be changed”
Another former cricketer Irfan Pathan stated via his X, formerly Twitter, handle if Virat Kohli had been standing at the popping crease the ball would have been lower than his measured waist height, that “makes it a legal delivery”.
