Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra has pointed out what he sees as inconsistency in BCCI’s handling of player celebrations, comparing Virat Kohli’s aggressive celebration towards Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer with Lucknow Super Giants bowler Digvesh Rathi’s notebook celebration that resulted in fines.
The incident occurred after Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s seven-wicket victory against Punjab Kings in Chandigarh, where Kohli scored his fourth half-century of the season. After the winning run, Kohli’s intense celebration directed at Iyer went viral on social media.
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Digvesh Rathi faced penalties on two separate occasions for his notebook celebration. He received a 25 percent fine and one demerit point for his first offence on April 1 after dismissing PBKS opener Priyansh Arya. His second offence, after dismissing Mumbai Indians’ Naman Dhir, resulted in a 50 percent fine and two more demerit points.
“What caught my eye was that Digvesh Rathi did a ‘notebook’ celebration. He did it once and got fined. He did it a second time and got fined. He got scared the third time, saying he was not earning as much as he would lose in fines. So he has started writing something on the ground,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
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“Then we saw Virat Kohli’s celebration at the end of the PBKS-RCB match, that was also pure aggression. However, no one said anything to him. There is not even a rap on the knuckles. Nobody has pulled him up for that, but you did that when Digvesh Rathi did a ‘notebook’ celebration,” he added.
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Chopra also referenced a past incident involving MS Dhoni, who was fined 50 percent of his match fee for entering the field and arguing with umpires, violating the IPL Code of Conduct.
“I recall MS Dhoni was once fined 50 percent of his match fee because he entered the ground. He shouldn’t have gone at all. 50 per cent of his match fee was immediately cut. It could have been more than that, but there was some action. However, it hasn’t happened in Virat Kohli’s case,” he said.
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