Indian captain Virat Kohli was docked 25 per cent of his match fees for excessive appealing in the match against Afghanistan. The incident occurred in the 29th over of the Afghanistan innings when Kohli advanced towards umpire Aleem Dar in an aggressive manner when appealing for a lbw decision.
"Kohli was found to have breached Article 2.1 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to "Excessive appealing during an International Match", an ICC release said.
If Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct is breached, a player is slapped with a minimum penalty of an official reprimand, and a maximum penalty of 50 per cent of a player's match fee, as well as one or two demerit points.
Kohli admitted to the offence and accepted the sanctions
The Indian skipper Kohli admitted to the offence and accepted the sanction which was proposed by the match referee Chris Broad of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees. Thus, there was no need for a formal hearing in the case.
With this demerit point, Kohli now has a total of two points - he had received one point against South Africa last year in the Test series. On-field umpires Aleem Dar and Richard Illingworth, third umpire Richard Kettleborough and fourth official Michael Gough levelled the charges against the Indian captain.
What does the rule say
When a player reaches four or more demerit points within a 24-month period, the points are then converted into suspension points. Two suspension points translate into a ban from one Test or two ODIs or two T20Is, whatever comes first for him. Demerit points remain on a Player or Player Support Personnel's disciplinary record for a period of 24 months from their imposition following which they will be expunged.
It was a minor blemish in an otherwise flawless day for captain Kohli. He was the stand out batsman on a sluggish surface at Southampton. He marshalled his troops brilliantly and was on point with his bowling and fielding changes. The skipper spoke about the character of his side as they managed to put pressure on Afghanistan and come out with a win despite posting a below par score on the board.
"This game was way more important for us, because things didn't go as planned. That's when you need to show character and bounce back," Kohli said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
