India captain Virat Kohli has received a demerit point and an official warning for an "inappropriate" shoulder contact with South Africa quick Beuran Hendricks while taking a run during the third T20I on Sunday in Bengaluru. Kohli was found guilty of a Level 1 breach of the ICC Code of Conduct.
The incident occurred on the fourth ball of the fifth over, bowled by Hendricks, when Kohli pulled a delivery to deep midwicket and rubbed his right shoulder with Hendricks' right while running down the pitch. Kohli was found to have breached Article 2.12 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to "Inappropriate physical contact with a Player, Player Support Personnel, Umpire, Match Referee or any other person (including a spectator) during an International Match."
It was Kohli's third offence since the introduction of the revised code in September 2016. He now has three demerit points after getting one for the Centurion Test in South Africa last year and one more during the match against Afghanistan in this year's World Cup on June 22.
During the Centurion Test, Kohli was penalised for his behaviour with on-field umpire Michael Gough on the third day of the match, and was fined 25% of his match fee. During South Africa's second innings, Kohli persistently complained to Gough about the state of the damp ball after a rain interruption and then threw the ball into the ground in an "aggressive manner," according to the ICC.
During the World Cup match against Afghanistan, Kohli was reprimanded for "excessive appealing and charging aggressively towards the umpire", Aleem Dar. The incident occurred when Kohli advanced towards Dar in appeal of an lbw decision against Rahmat Shah in the 29th over of Afghanistan's chase. Kohli was fined 25% of his match fees then too.
According to the revised code, when a player reaches four or more demerit points within a 24-month period, they are converted into suspension points and a player is banned. These demerit points remain on a player's disciplinary record for 24 months from their imposition after which they are expunged.
Kohli admitted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by match referee Richie Richardson which meant there was no need for a formal hearing. The charge was levelled by on-field umpires Nitin Menon and CK Nandan, third umpire Anil Chaudhary and fourth official C Shamshuddin.