Virat Kohli has been fined 20 per cent of his match fees for his shoulder barge with Australian debutant Sam Konstas during the opening day of the MCG Boxing Day Test.
Kohli, who was widely criticised for instigating the mid-pitch altercation with the 19-year-old Konstas, was fined 20 per cent of his match fees and handed one demerit point. He accepted the charges.
Cameras captured Kohli changing his path and walking towards Konstas between overs, before a shoulder barge led to exchanged words between the two. On Fox Cricket, Michael Vaughan said: "He's [Kohli's] been rattled by a 19-year-old. Sam Konstas did absolutely nothing wrong there. Virat veered towards him. You can't do that, you're just not allowed to do that."
After the incident, there was discussion over the nature of punishment Kohli might have to face.Article 2.12 of the Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel deals with inappropriate physical contact.
Kohli could have been booked for a Level 1 or Level 2 offence, but finally got the least severe sanction of the Level 1 offence, including one demerit point and a fine between 0-25 per cent of the match fees, in this case, 20 per cent.
