Shubman Gill reacted to his controversial dismissal with some cryptic social media posts yesterday (June 10), seemingly questioning the legality of the catch taken by Cameron Green. In doing so, he might have risked breaching ICC’s Code of Conduct.

Day 4 of the World Test Championship Final between India and Australia witnessed a moment controversy, with TV umpire Richard Kettleborough’s decision to uphold Cameron Green’s low catch at gully dividing the opinion of the cricket community.

While some were of the opinion that Green ‘grassed’ the ball on his way down, others believed that he was in full control of the ball and his movements and managed to keep the ball off the turf, and hence the decision was the correct one.

Gill, who was batting on a run-a-ball 18 and was looking in pristine touch before his dismissal, had to make the long walk back, much to the frustration of Indian fans.

While Gill did not react in an extravagant manner or show any sort of dissent on the field after he was given out, he did take to social media and post a couple of cryptic posts including screen-grabs of Green’s catch and ‘clapping’. ‘magnifying glass’ and ‘facepalm’ emojis to go with them.

🔎🔎🤦🏻‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/pOnHYfgb6L

— Shubman Gill (@ShubmanGill) June 10, 2023

Instagram story by Shubman Gill. pic.twitter.com/P4hDyzpyS5

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) June 10, 2023

What does the Code of Conduct say?

Article 2.7 of ICC’s Code of Conduct deals with public criticism of any incident during a match by a player. It states that any social media post by a player “where they criticize or make an inappropriate comment in relation to an incident occurring in an International Match, or any Player, Player Support Personnel, Match Official or team participating in any International Match”, amounts to a Level 1 or Level 2 offence.

Article 2.7 further states that “when assessing the seriousness of the breach, without limitation, the context within which the comments have been made and the gravity of the offending comments must be taken into account.”

Gill’s Twitter and Instagram posts, while not directly criticizing the decision, have been taken as showing his displeasure, and it remains to be seen whether the Match Referee deems them inappropriate enough to book Gill for a Level 1 or Level 2 offence under Article 2.7.

What punishment could Gill get?

A Level 1 offence results in a warning and/or fine of up to 50 per cent of the applicable match fee and incurs between one and two demerit points, while a Level 2 offence results in a fine of 50-100 per cent of the applicable match dee and up to two suspension points, or between three and four demerit points.

If a player incurs four demerit points in a rolling two-year period, those are converted into two suspension points, leading to a ban for one Test or two limited-overs internationals.

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