Indian cricketers have reportedly escaped with a slap on the wrist following their Decision Review System (DRS) outburst on Day 3 of the third and final Test against South Africa at Newlands, Cape Town.
After South Africa captain Dean Elgar successfully overturned an LBW decision off Ravichandran Ashwin on Thursday, Indian cricketers insinuated that not everything was fair and questioned the projection showed by the HawkEye.
Virat Kohli, who returned to lead India in the series finale after missing the second Test due to a back spasm, approached the stumps and used the mic to good effect. He told SuperSport, the host broadcasters, to "Focus on your team while they shine the ball. Not just the opposition." Other players were also caught making very strong statements like, "It's the whole country against 11 guys" and "You should find better ways to win, SuperSport."
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Many Indians, including former opener Gautam Gambhir, slammed the conduct. But after the match, Kohli defended their actions, saying, "We understood what happened on the field, and people on the outside don't know exact details of what goes on in the field, so for me to try and justify what we did on the field and say we got carried away is wrong."
Many felt that Kohli & Co will get sanctions for their conduct. But as it turned out, the ICC, cricket's global governing body, has taken a lenient approach while dealing with the case. ESPNCricinfo reported that the ICC's match officials had a word with the Indian team management and cautioned them about their conduct.
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But the match officials didn't report any breach of code of conduct which would have demanded a sanction or penalty. So no formal charge has been filed against any player.
According to Cricbuzz, match referee Andy Pycroft has told the Indian team management that the players' behaviour was uncalled for and they could attract sanctions if such reactions are repeated.
It's also reported that Indian players have escaped sanctions mainly because their protest was against the technology, and not against any official. Apparently, there's no clause in the ICC code which deals with the criticism of the broadcaster or technology.
