Virat Kohli might miss the Semi-Final: Virat Kohli has landed himself in trouble yet again. Kohli is a demerit point away from missing a game and if that comes in India’s last league game against Sri Lanka, the Indian captain will miss the semi-final and even the final if India makes it there.
Kohli’s on-field behavior has been under scrutiny this World Cup after the star Indian batsman has been found guilty of excessive appealing. Virat has been fined twice for excessive appealing and showing dissent. The second instance took place against Bangladesh in the 12th over of Bangladesh’s batting when Soumya Sarkar was adjudged not out by on-field umpire Marais Erasmus. India reviewed the decision but with the ball hitting the ball and the pad at the same time, the third umpire asked Erasmus to stick to his decision. Kohli was visibly disappointed and had a long spat with the on-field umpire leading to breach of Article 2.1 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which is linked to “excessive appealing in an international game.”
Earlier, Kohli was involved in another spat with the umpire in the game against Afghanistan and found himself on the receiving end of a breach of ICC Code of Conduct for excessive appealing, earning him a demerit point.
First of Kohli’s demerit points had come in the Test vs South Africa on January 15, 2018. Another demerit point would mean Kohli missing 2 games. As per the ICC laws, four demerit points within 24 months leads to one Test or two limited-overs games suspension.
This could mean that India might rest Kohli in the last group stage game against Sri Lanka have already qualified for the semi-final and would look to protect their star batsman.
