A pitch invader has caused a brief delay to play early on Day 2 at the MCG, after bypassing stadium security to accost Virat Kohli in the middle.
With Steve Smith and Pat Cummins looking untroubled out in the middle to bring up a century partnership as well as Smith’s 34th Test ton, the incident was the last thing Kohli or India needed as the crucial third Test slips away from them.
The pitch invader was filmed putting his arm around Kohli as he signalled for security, before mocking the 36-year old with a ‘floss’ dance popularised by the online game Fortnite before he was at last arrested.
Three security guards swamped the fan before escorting him from the ground.
He will face a hefty fine for the act.
The incident comes after the Indian veteran controversially escaped a suspension for a mid-pitch altercation with Australian young gun Sam Konstas during his whirlwind innings on Day 1.
Kohli received a single demerit point and was fined 20 per cent of his match fee for bumping Konstas during a change of ends, with Usman Khawaja and umpire Michael Gough stepping in to break up a mounting argument.
The punishment has been viewed as inadequate in many corners, with even Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar saying that a fine was too light a ban for such a well-paid cricketer.
“These players are highly paid professionals – any fine has to be something which will be a deterrent,” Gavaskar said on Seven.
“One can understand why the ICC match referee went by the books and what the ICC playing conditions are… I just hope that Kohli, being one of the greatest cricketers in the world, is not remembered for this.”
Fellow former great Ricky Ponting agreed, saying the penalty ‘wasn’t harsh enough’, saying the slap on the wrist sends a bad message to lower levels of the game.
“Let’s have a think about the enormity of this yesterday – this is probably the most watched day of cricket for the whole year all around the world,” Ponting said.
“Imagine if this happens in a grade [cricket] game on the weekend now – what’s going to happen there? I think people are going to think that that’s almost acceptable now.
“Unfortunately for someone like Virat, as we got told as players and as senior players and as captains, sometimes it’s just different for some people. He’s a role model, he’s someone that the cricketing world looks up to.
“I personally don’t think that the fine was harsh enough.”
>Cricket News
%20(3).jpeg)
0 Comments