Melbourne [Australia]: Right-arm seamer Jasprit Bumrah's wife, Sanjana Ganesan, defended India's stalwart batter Virat Kohli after he was booed by fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on the second day of the fourth Test of the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 on Friday.
On Day 2 of the Melbourne Test, Kohli was dismissed after scoring 36 runs off 86 balls, including four boundaries. While returning to the dressing room, he faced boos from sections of the crowd.
"Really disrespectful behaviour towards the country's best batter. Criticism is fine, but abuse crosses the line. Upholding the spirit of cricket and supporting our players with dignity," Sanjana Ganesan wrote in a post on X.
Earlier on Thursday, Virat Kohli was fined 20 per cent of his match fee and handed one demerit point for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct. The incident occurred on the first day of the Melbourne Test when Kohli made physical contact with Australia's debutant by bumping his shoulder after the 10th over, leading to a heated exchange between the two players.
Australia's Usman Khawaja intervened in an attempt to defuse the situation, according to the ICC.
Under Article 2.12 of the ICC Code of Conduct, "inappropriate physical contact with a Player, Player Support Personnel, Umpire, Match Referee or any other person (including a spectator during an International Match)" is prohibited.
Kohli accepted the sanction proposed by Match Referee Andy Pycroft, thereby avoiding a formal hearing. The charge was brought by on-field umpires Joel Wilson and Michael Gough, along with third umpire Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid and fourth umpire Shawn Craig.
