Kevin Pietersen, the England batsman, has been officially reprimanded for a Level 1 breach of the ICC code of conduct during the Kolkata Twenty20 game against India on October 29. Pietersen was found to have breached Article 2.1.3 of the code which relates to "showing dissent at an umpire's decision during an international match".
The charge was laid by on-field umpires Sudhir Asnani and S Ravi, third umpire Vineet Kulkarni and fourth umpire K Srinath. The offence occurred following Pietersen's dismissal, when he was ruled out lbw off Suresh Raina's bowling. By then, England were cruising towards victory on the back of Pietersen's brisk half-century.
Pietersen pleaded guilty to the charge and, under the provisions of the code, the matter was determined by the match referee Roshan Mahanama and so there was no requirement for a full hearing.
"As an experienced cricketer, Kevin should know that when the umpire raises his finger, a player should leave the crease without showing his emotions no matter what he may think of the decision," Mahanama said. "In this case, Kevin displayed excessive and obvious disappointment at the decision which sent the wrong signals to all those watching the match at the ground and on television, and as such merited some form of action."