India's batting maestro Virat Kohli had to bear ICC's brunt following the on-field physical altercation with Sam Konstas on Day 1 of the Boxing Day Test against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on December 26. Kohli was fined 20 per cent of his match fee and one demerit point after the 'shoulder-bump' episode with Sam Konstas.
How much Virat Kohli will pay after being heavily fined by ICC?
ICC's sanction on Kohli has left many wondering about the amount which the India's superstar batter will have to play following the tense incident at the MCG. As a Grade A+ cricketer in the BCCI central contract, Kohli receives a match fee of Rs 15 lakh for Test matches.
Consequently, the fine amounts to Rs 3 lakh, reducing his earnings for the match. Indian cricketers receive Rs 6 lakh and Rs 3 lakh as match fees for ODIs and T20Is, respectively. The incident involved a physical altercation between Kohli and Australian debutant Konstas, one of the youngest players to debut in Test cricket for Australia.
During the break between the 10th and 11th overs of the Australian innings, as Konstas and Usman Khawaja were exchanging ends, Kohli approached the young batter and collided with him. Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting, who was commentating at the time, suggested that Kohli's actions were deliberate.
However, upon reviewing the replays, it became evident that while Kohli was aware of his path, Konstas, distracted by adjusting his gloves with his head down, unintentionally walked into Kohli.
Virat Kohli was charged with breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct. This charge was levelled by on-field umpires Joel Wilson and Michael Gough, third umpire Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid, and fourth umpire Shawn Craig.
Kohli avoided a formal hearing as he accepted the sanctions proposed by match referee Andy Pycroft at the end of the day's play.
"Virat Kohli has been fined 20 percent of his match fee and awarded one demerit point for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct," the ICC said in a statement.
"No formal hearing was needed as Kohli accepted the sanctions proposed by Match Referee Andy Pycroft," it added.
Usman Khawaja reveals how he diffused tense situation between Kohli and Konstas
Later, Usman Khawaja, who had a ring-side view of the entire episode between Kohli and Konstas revealed how he diffused the fiery situation.
"At the moment, I didn't see what happened. Like, I was walking kind of the other way. And then I just went, 'woah'. I kind of looked back and saw like they just as I turned around, I saw them collide and I was like, what's going on here? But yeah, it wasn't," Khawaja told ABC Sport.
"Sammy (Sam Konstas) was going, he was on fire. His beans were obviously going. I just came to diffuse the situation because I was like, I like the emotion. I like, you know, there was a bit of chirp going on between Sam and (Jasprit) Bumrah and Virat (Kohli) during the whole time, but I didn't want to be tainted by any physical contact," Khawaja further added.
“I’ve known Virat a long time, he came to the academy when I was in the U-19s. I’ve known him for a long time. Been mates a long time, so I was like (to Sam) ‘you chill, chill, go bat, I’ll talk to him and I’ll sort this out and yeah, it was fine’,” Khawaja concluded.