Premier India batter Virat Kohli is facing flak on social media after Bangladesh cricketer Nurul Hasan accused him of “cheating” in his team's five-run loss to the Men in Blue in Adelaide on Wednesday. The Bangladesh wicketkeeper batter alleged that Virat Kohli was involved in an act of “fake fielding” during the Bangladesh run chase after India put a mammoth total of 184/6 on the board, thanks to the latter's unbeaten knock of 64 off 44 deliveries.
However, a day after the match, Virat Kohli found himself on top of the trending charts on Twitter following Nurul Hasan's accusations.
With Bangladesh eventually losing the rain-curtailed game against India by 5 runs, a section of netizens took to Twitter to blast Virat Kohli.
While some called him a “cheater”, others labeled him as “shameless” and there were some who even suggested that BCCI should buy the T20 World Cup for the Indian team rather than asking its cricketers to commit such “trickery” on the field.
Shame on icc double standards. Shame on Indian monopoly in the gentleman’s game. Shame on the useless tournaments if trophy is already decided to be given to india. Shame on all those who are bragging about indian cricket skill set. Bunch of Bloody cheaters #FakeFielding
— Aisha Choudhary (@AishaChoudhary0) November 3, 2022
https://twitter.com/FA2662S/status/1587871204714635266
I thought Virat Kohli was a true sportsman and a gentleman but after today I lost all the respect for Virat Kohli.
Just because you're a big star doesn't mean you can do whatever the FUCK you want.
Shame on him.#ViratKohli
— Samad (@samad_abbasi1) November 2, 2022
What the fucking rules are making? @ICC Are your @ICC rules are according to the cheaters @BCCI shame on u @imVkohli your are not the king your are a cheater @imVkohli pic.twitter.com/xGtplre9TN
— Hassnain Sonu (@HassnainSonu2) November 2, 2022
Its a great shame for @BCCI and @imVkohli. Why he did fake feliding? And why not icc count it!!!
Yesterday's match bangladesh won. Not india. Icc should gave 5 run pic.twitter.com/PFcQvYXXUd— Taukir Tajammul (@artistotajammul) November 3, 2022
Even after 15 years of IPL experience, if you have to pay to reach the semi-finals, it is a shame.#PAKvSA #ViratKohli𓃵 pic.twitter.com/po5llC2pd1
— Occupied Kashmir (@KamranK45131144) November 3, 2022
Virat Kohli has turned into a cry baby and a cheat. Against pakistan he pleaded, infact bullied the umpire to give a no ball when the replay shows it clearly wasn't. Against Bangladesh he fake fielded. Such a shame from an otherwise great player.
— Anjum Pervez (@anjumpq) November 4, 2022
The incident happened to have taken place in the seventh over the Bangla Tigers' run chase. With Bangladesh chasing India's steep total of 184, Litton Das was going all guns blazing, smashing the opposition's bowlers all over the park. In the process, Litton Das struck a shot in the deep and as Arshdeep Singh threw the ball back toward India wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik, Virat Kohli, who was fielding at point, feigned to have collected it before taking a shot at the non-striker's end.
But as nobody noticed the controversial episode, the on-field umpires, Chris Brown and Marais Erasmus, didn't take any kind of action.
However, the decision of the umpires left Nurul Hasan fuming who subsequently raised the matter in his interaction with the media after the game.
“We all saw that it was a wet ground,” Nurul Hasan said. “Eventually, when we talk about these things, there was also a fake throw. It could have been a five-run penalty. That also could have gone our way, but unfortunately, even that didn't materialise.”
Notably, Nurul Hasan's allegations against Virat Kohli came across as false, per the ICC's rules.
According to cricket's global governing body, the umpires can levy a five-run penalty on the opposition team if a player or a group of players are seen making a deliberate attempt to distract, deceive, or obstruct the batter of a batting side.
In Virat Kohli's case, multiple videos showed that he neither “distracted nor deceived or obstructed” any Bangladeshi batsman.
And once it became evident that Virat Kohli had done nothing wrong, the criticism of the Bangladeshi team grew louder and louder, even evoking a response from cricket expert Harsha Bhogle.
Speaking about the controversy on Twitter, Harsha Bhogle took a jibe at the Shakib Al Hasan-led side as he declared that the row was created just to divert attention from their defeat to India.
“So, for my friends in Bangladesh, please don't look at fake fielding or wet conditions as a reason for not reaching the target. If one of the batters had stayed till the end, Bangladesh could have won it. We are all guilty of it….when we search for excuses, we don't grow,” Harsha Bhogle tweeted.
Harsha Bhogle further said, “On the fake fielding incident, the truth is that nobody saw it. The umpires didn't, the batters didn't and we didn't either. Law 41.5 does make provision for penalising fake fielding (the umpire still has to interpret it thus) but no one saw it. So what do you do!”
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has decided to escalate the matter. The cricket body's chairman of operations Jalal Yunus said that they would report Virat Kohli's alleged cheating incident to the ICC.
“We have spoken about it. You have seen it in the TV and everything happened in front of you. There was one regarding fake throw and we have notified the umpires about the fake throw but he said he did not notice it and that is the reason he did not take the review. Shakib discussed a lot about it with Erasmus and even spoke with him after game,” Jalal Yunus said.
“Secondly, Shakib had spoken about the wet field and he asked that he can take some more time and let the field get dried and start the game after the field is dried. But… the umpires' decision is final and that is reason there was no place for argument. There was only one decision whether you will play or not play,” he added.
“We have it in our head so that we can raise the issue in the proper forum,” Jalal Yunus concluded.
Follow Us
Subscribe