Occasions when Virat Kohli was penalized for breaching the code of conduct

An aggressive player is always box office, no matter which sport you’re talking about. Let that be Zlatan Ibrahimovic in Football or Nick Kyrgios in Tennis, no matter how silly they can get at times, the fans love just love them. The Indian skipper Virat Kohli doesn’t shy away from getting animated or expressing himself profusely no matter how many eyes are on him.

He is all the more charged when the occasion is huge, like an ICC knockout tournament or whilst touring Australia, South Africa, or England. The ongoing tour of South Africa is being touted as the biggest challenge of his career and he stroked a brilliant century against the run of play in the first innings of the second Test.

He clearly is eager to make the most out of this game to stay alive and keep his beaten run intact. Amidst this adrenaline rush, he once again fell in the bad books of the hierarchy, ICC. He kept complaining constantly about the condition of the ball to the on-field umpires and he also threw the ball “Aggressively” on the ground, which didn’t go down well with the match referee.

Kohli was charged 25 percent of his match fee for his conduct which was found to be “contrary to the spirit of the game”. Well, this ain’t the first time ICC has been uncompromising on the 29-year-old. Here are few other occasions when he was fined by the ICC for breaching the code of conduct.

1. Shows the “Finger”, gets punished!

An incident which will not be forgotten for a long time to come. Virat Kohli flipped off the Sydney Crowd during a Test match against Australia in 2012. When confronted by the media, Kohli suggested the fans went very personal on the name of “Sledging”. Kohli, later on, pleaded guilty to his actions, but that couldn’t save him from a 50% match-fee fine.

It was a level two offense and the repercussions could’ve been all the more severe if Kohli had not apologized. If the offense is categorized under Level one, the player can be fined maximum upto 50 % of the match fee. Under level two, the fine begins from a 50% match-fee penalty to getting banned for one or two games.

2. Fined 30% for dissent during match against Pakistan

It was the Asia Cup encounter against Pakistan in 2016, famously remembered for Mohammad Amir’s breathtaking spell. Kohli showed great character to help India get over the winning line but was adjudged LBW in the 15th over with the game almost done. Kohli didn’t like the decision and was furious with the call.

He looked back towards the umpires whilst walking back and uttered some words, which resulted in the ICC booking him under level one offense. India won that game convincingly towards the end so Kohli didn’t seem very disappointed later on.

3. The Warner, Kohli, and Dhawan altercation

The Adelaide Test in 2014 was surrounded by trauma and agony after the sad demise of Philip Hughes. It seemed like it’d take a long time before the players will get back in the mood of playing. But it didn’t take long as some serious exchanges took place between Kohli, Dhawan, and David Warner.

When Warner was dismissed by Varun Aaron, the Indian contingent reacted quite vehemently. When the replays suggested Aaron had bowled a No-Ball, Warner hit back by shouting “Come on”. Dhawan and Kohli exchanged a few words, which never seemed polite. Warner was fined 15%, whilst Dhawan and Kohli were fined 30% of their match fee.

4. Another one with the umpires!

In 2013, India was taking on New Zealand at Dambulla in an ODI enconter. It was a Tri Series, which also included Sri Lanka. Kohli was given out by the umpire for caught-behind, which the youngster (Back then) was not ready to consent with. He stood his ground and was charged 15% of his match fee by the ICC.

“After being given out in the sixth over, the player stood his ground and looked at the umpire for a considerable time before eventually leaving the middle,” International Cricket Council (ICC) said in a statement.