Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra suggested that Royal Challengers Bengaluru star Virat Kohli got away with celebrating in the face of Punjab Kings skipper Shreyas Iyer, raising subtle questions about the BCCI's double standard. Kohli's behavior was compared to that of Lucknow Super Giants spinner Digvesh Rathi, who received two fines this season for his notebook celebration.
With a record fourth half-century, Kohli was instrumental in the visitors' seven-wicket victory over the Punjab Kings in Chandigarh last Sunday. In a video that went viral on social media, Kohli was seen celebrating aggressively facing Iyer after RCB won the match, also leading to a momentarily exchange between the two Indian stars.
Chopra questioned why Digvesh was booked for his notebook celebration on both occasions but Kohli avoided a fine from the BCCI on his YouTube channel. "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.
"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.
After dismissing PBKS opener Priyansh Arya on April 1, Digvesh received a 25 percent fine and one demerit point for his first offence. A 50 percent fine and two more demerit points were imposed for a recurrent offense when Digvesh dismissed Mumbai Indians' Naman Dhir.
The former KKR batter also recalled the incident of MS Dhoni entering the field midway during a match while objecting a decision by the umpire. His violation of the IPL Code of Conduct had led he was assessed 50 percent of his match fees. Kohli, in Chopra's opinion, did not suffer the same fate.
"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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