Virat Kohli fined 25% match fee for ‘excessive appealing’ against Afghanistan

Indian skipper Virat Kohli has been 25 per cent of his match for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct during their World Cup game against Afghanistan in Southampton on Saturday.

According to the ICC’s Code of Conduct, 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”.

The incident occurred during the 29th over of the game against Afghanistan, when Kohli advanced towards umpire Aleem Dar in an aggressive manner when appealing an lbw decision.

The Indian skipper admitted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by match referee Chris Broad of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees and as such, there was no need for a formal hearing.

However, in addition to the fine, one demerit point has been added to the Indian skipper’s disciplinary record, for whom it was the second offence since the introduction of the revised code in September 2016.

Kohli now has two demerit points after having got one demerit point during the Pretoria Test against South Africa on 15 January 2018.

Level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand, a maximum penalty of 50 per cent of a player’s match fee and one or two demerit points.

According to the rules, when a player reaches four or more demerit points within a 24-month period, they are converted into suspension points and the player is banned

Two suspension points equate to a ban from one Test or two ODIs or two T20Is, whatever comes first for the player