Virat Kohli to be BANNED For Kiss-Blowing Celebration During RCB vs GT IPL 2024 Match?

Bengaluru: Virat Kohli could not keep a lid over his emotions as Royal Challengers Bengaluru came up with the goods on Saturday against Gujarat Titans at the M. Chinnaswamy. Kohli, who is a gun fielder, took a catch and also affected a runout. But, what followed after the runout could land him in trouble. Kohli gave a flying kiss to the Chinnaswamy crowd after affecting the runout of Shah Rukh Khan. Kohli has already copped a fine for showing dissent to the umpire following his controversial dismissal during RCB’s game with Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens.

His ‘flying kiss’ act falls under IPL Code of Conduct’s Article 2.5 which pertains to “Using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction”.

So, will Kohli now be banned for a match like KKR’s Harshit Rana was? Will Kohli miss RCB’s next game against Punjab Kings on May 9? No, Kohli will not.

Kohli will escape a one-match suspension because Article 7 of the Code of Conduct details what sanctions are to be imposed for Code of Conduct breaches. While clause 7.3 states that, if a player has one previous offence, they face “the imposition of a fine of between 50- 100% of the applicable match fee and/or a suspension of up to two matches”, the previous clause makes clear that this only applies for two breaches of the same article.

His first breach of IPL 2024 was under Article 2.8 (showing dissent at an umpire’s decision during a match), while he is likely to be pulled up for breaching Article 2.5 for his flying kiss gesture.

Meanwhile, Kohli scored 42 off 27 balls which proved to be crucial in the end as RCB won the game by four wickets to keep their hopes of making the playoffs alive.

With the win, RCB move up to the seventh spot in the points table with four wins in 11 games.