Virat Kohli Uses A Walkie Talkie And Violates The LAW, Here’s How ICC Reacted!
The first T20I between India and New Zealand at Feroz Shah Kotla in New Delhi was focused mainly on Ashish Nehra who was playing the final game of his career. However, team India gave a perfect send off to Ashish Nehra, by defeating New Zealand. Surprisingly, it was the first T20 win for India against New Zealand out of 6 outings.
Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan scored 80 each and India got the perfect finish from Virat Kohli to put up 202. New Zealand tried hard but Chahal and Akshar proved to be too much for the Kiwi batting and India won by 53 runs. After the match, Ashish Nehra took a lap of honor thanking the crowd that was present at the stadium.
As everyone is busy watching Nehra’s final match and his speech, the Indian skipper came under the scanner soon after the match raising a controversy. Virat Kohli was seen talking on a walkie-talkie during the Indian innings sitting in the dugout which is against the law.
This lead to confusion on social media regarding ICC’s rules on the usage of wireless devices near the playing area. The 28-year-old was seen communicating with the handheld device while sitting in the team dugout during the Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma’s record-breaking opening partnership in the first innings of the game.
The ICC rules regarding the use of wireless devices state that: “The use of two-way handheld device that uses dedicated frequencies over short distances (ie a walkie-talkie) by Player Support Personnel for the purpose of communication between the dugout and dressing room area for medical and/or tactical reasons only, provided such communication devices are suitably encrypted to avoid detection by any third party in the nearby vicinity.”
According to the rules, he was found guilty of violating the rules of International Cricket Council (ICC). However, the world cricketing body has given Virat Kohli a clean chit in the matter and clarified that he had sought permission from them before using it and had been given clearance by the ICC’s Anti-Corruption Security Unit.
“While walkie-talkie is used by support staff to communicate between dug-out and the dressing room, Kohli had sought permission from Venue ACU manager before using it,” an unnamed ICC official told. Under the new rules, the usage of the walkie-talkie is allowed by the players and the support staff, but mobile phones are strictly prohibited in the dressing room and near the playing area.
Earlier, in the 1999 World Cup, late South African captain Hansie Cronje was embroiled in a massive controversy when he was seen talking to coach Bob Woolmer using an earpiece while on the field. The act was caught by India’s Sourav Ganguly, who informed the umpires about the same, forcing the ICC to amend their rules and ban the usage of such devices.
Thus, the ICC clarified that no press release will be issued as Kohli had taken prior permission from it and used the official walkie-talkies under the rules. The second T20I between India and New Zealand will be played at Rajkot on November 4.