It seems nothing is going right for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) so far. The team is currently languishing at the bottom of the table with just two points from only one victory in eight matches.
Making things worse, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has penalized RCB star batsman Virat Kohli for his behaviour in the KKR vs RCB match. He has been fined 50 percent of the match fees for Level 1 offence under Article 2.20 of the IPL’s Code of Conduct.
“Kohli committed a Level 1 offence under Article 2.8 of the IPL’s Code of Conduct. He admitted to the offence and accepted the Match Referee’s sanction. For Level 1 breaches of the Code of Conduct, the Match Referee’s decision is final and binding,” stated a BCCI release.
Kohli was given out on a high full toss by Harshit Rana. The veteran didn’t like the decision and took DRS. However, the third umpire upheld the decision of the on-field official. Virat lost his cool and went straight to the umpires. He was seen arguing with the officials and even abused them before leaving for the pavillion.
The right-handed batter scored 18 runs off seven balls including two sixes and one four. The ball bowled by Rana was dipping and Kohli was standing outside the crease. According to the rules, the waist height of the player from the crease is taking into consideration during such cases and Virat was clearly out when it was applied in his case.
He even tried to explain it to his RCB teammates and the KKR players that the officials made a mistake. However, the technology proved him wrong.
Meanwhile, several experts and fans are of the opinion that, RCB’s repeated failures in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League has taken a heavy toll on the star batter.
“RCB players are under tremendous pressure due to the dismal performance by his team. Though their batting is very strong, they have not performed as a team yet. Their bowling department has struggled a lot due to the lack of quality spinners. Out of desperation, star batsman Kohli is committing silly mistakes compounding their problems further,” said a former India player.