Ball tampering allegations: Kohli accused by British tabloid, du Plessis held guilty

Tags: England tour of India 2016 -17, India Vs England 1st Test at Rajkot, Nov 09-13, 2016, Virat Kohli, Francois du Plessis

Published on: Nov 22, 2016

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Even as stand-in South African skipper Faf du Plessis was charged by the ICC of ball tampering in the Hobart Test, a British tabloid on Tuesday alleged that Indian skipper Virat Kohli also tampered with the ball during the first Test against England at Rajkot, which ended in a tight draw

Even as stand-in South African skipper Faf du Plessis was charged by the ICC of ball tampering in the Hobart Test, a British tabloid on Tuesday alleged that Indian skipper Virat Kohli also tampered with the ball during the first Test against England at Rajkot, which ended in a tight draw.

The Daily Mail through a video tried to prove that Kohli actually tried to shine the ball with the residue of a sweet in his mouth. According to the allegations laid by the tabloid on Kohli, the Indian skipper put his hands deep in his mouth, and then shined one side of the ball during the course of the Rajkot Test. "Footage has emerged of India captain Virat Kohli appearing to shine the ball using residue from a sweet during his country's draw with England in the first Test,” The Daily Mail report said.

"Television cameras caught Kohli, who finished on 49 not out on the final day in Rajkot, putting his right hand towards his mouth. The 28-year-old can be seen rubbing his fingers in his mouth, inside of which is a sweet. He then appears to shine one side of the ball,” the report went on to add.

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Meanwhile, du Plessis has been fined his entire match fee from the Hobart Test. However, he will be allowed to take part in the Adelaide Test as South Africa look to register a clean sweep against the struggling Aussies.

Releasing a press statement on the issue, the ICC said, "The decision (to penalise du Plessis) was based on the evidence given from the umpires, who confirmed that had they seen the incident they would have taken action immediately, and from Mr Stephenson [MCC head of cricket John Stephenson], who confirmed the view of MCC that the television footage showed an artificial substance being transferred to the ball."

Du Plessis has 48 hours from the time of receipt of the written decision to lodge his objections.

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Earlier, Hashim Amla had described the allegations against their captain as a joke. “The reason everybody is here is to stand together and to show solidarity to what has been something we actually thought was a joke. It's not April. But the allegations against Faf were really, for us, a ridiculous thing and as a team we are standing strong. For us it is basically a joke. The boys are here, standing strong,” he had said.

“At the outset, I want to dismiss all the fuss around sweets, saliva and shining a cricket ball as a storm in a lolly bag. I’m happy to admit that I am no academic expert on the impact that sugar can have on the aerodynamics of fast bowling but I’ve played and coached enough cricket to know that the whole thing is a bit ridiculous,” Jason Gillespie said, writing for cricket.com.au.

--By A Cricket Correspondent

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