Indian star Virat Kohli has been facing backlash for shoulder-bumping Australian debutant Sam Konstas during the opening session of the Test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Thursday.
The former skipper has been fined 20% of his match fee and handed one demerit point after the incident which occurred at the conclusion of the 10th over on the first day.
During the match, Kohli made physical contact with Konstas in front of a packed crowd of 90,000 — the video of which has gone viral on social media with many bashing the cricketer for his act.
The moment sparked a brief exchange of words between the two players, prompting Australian opener Usman Khawaja to intervene and defuse the tension.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) reviewed the incident under Article 2.12 of its Code of Conduct (CoC), which prohibits inappropriate physical contact in cricket.
The regulation states that players breach this clause if they “deliberately, recklessly, or negligently” engage in physical contact with others on the field.
