Virat Kohli could face two World Cup match bans for arguing with the umpire
Team India on Tuesday defeated Bangladesh by 28 runs to qualify for the knockouts of the quadrennial event. Celebration for semis can wait because everything doesn’t seem to look fine for the Men in Blue as the Indian skipper might face a ban due to excessive appealing and arguing with the on-field umpires.
Though India has made it into the semi-finals after a victory against Bangladesh, the match may end up costing the boys in blue their captain.
What exactly happened?
In the 11th over, Mohammad Shami hit Soumya Sarkar on the pads, prompting Shami to appeal for a leg-before-wicket (LBW). On-field umpire, Marais Erasmus, turned the appeal down, which led Kohli to ask for a review on the big screen. The third umpire, Aleem Dar, decided that the ball appeared to strike bat and pad at the same time, and maintained Erasmus’s decision. The Third Umpire did not proceed to the ball tracking screen.

With this costing India a review, Kohli got into an argument with Erasmus. M.S. Dhoni was not present at the time.
Info about the demerit points
The official ICC website says:
“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. Two suspension points equate to a ban from one Test or two ODIs or two T20Is, whatever comes first for the player.”
Kohli’s Situation
Whether Kohli’s conduct will be counted as ‘excessive appealing’ will depend on the umpires.
It is Kohli’s third offence since the introduction of the Revised Code in September 2016. He is already having two demerit points.
- The first offence was against South Africa from a 2018 test match played in Pretoria, where he was also found in violation of section 2.1.1, for ‘conduct contrary to the spirit of the game.’
- The second offence was during the match against Afghanistan. Then, he was fined 25 per cent of his match fee and received one demerit point for being in breach of section 2.1 of the ICC Code of Conduct, which has to do with “Excessive appealing during an International Match”.

How Kohli’s absence will impact the team’s performance?
If the ban gets confirm on Kohli then it will be disheartening for everyone be it players or fans. If anyhow it happens, Mayank Agarwal will come into play and Rohit and Dhoni will have to take the responsibility.
Will India be able to survive even a single match without Kohli?
Our Take
There was no conclusive evidence of bat first. So benefit of the doubt to the batsman, not out, fine.
But the third umpire should have watched ball tracker and as it was umpire’s call, the review should have been retained.
Kohli may not receive punishment for his argument with the on-field umpire on Tuesday, but if he does a something similar in India’s match against Sri Lanka, then things could escalate.
