Virat Kohli after Kane Williamson's dismissal
Indian skipper Virat Kohli's animated send-offs to Kane Williamson and Tom Latham on the second day of the second Test against New Zealand at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch gained steam and sparked controversy all over social media. And this could land him in trouble with the match referee.
On a day when 16 wickets fell at the Hagley Oval, 10 of which belonged to India, Kohli let his emotions flow whilst fielding which caught the eye of many on social media. The video immediately went viral where users highlighted that the 31-year-old was spotted using expletive towards the crowd.
Kohli, who had recently won the ICC Spirit of Cricket award in 2019 for his gesture towards Steve Smith, was animated after Jasprit Bumrah had removed the New Zealand skipper early on day 2 for three. As soon as the ball flew off the outside edge of Kane's bat into Rishabh Pant's gloves, Kohli unleashed a wild celebration with a few words directed towards the batsman. And when Latham was dismissed by Mohammed Shami later into the day, Kohli turned towards the crowd, put his finger on his lips and uttered the words which social media users considered it as an expletive.
Earlier in January, Ben Stokes was fined 15 per cent of his match fees after he was caught abusing a spectator in Johannesburg during the Test between England and South Africa. During the same series, South African pacer Kagiso Rabada was found guilty of violating article 2.5 of the ICC’s code of conduct after his send-off to Joe Root.
Meanwhile, Kohli wrapped up a torrid New Zealand tour with a score of 14 in the final innings in Christchurch as he finished with 38 runs at 9.50 - his worst since the horror tour of England in 2014.
