Why Kohli and Warner weren’t charged

MUMBAI: Around the same time that the ICC heard the Faf du Plessis case, there emerged on social media footage of Virat Kohli and David Warner with suggestions that they might have introduced artificial substances to shine the ball. That footage, though, was not a consideration for the ICC because any Level 1 or 2 offence under the ICC Code of Conduct has to be brought to the notice of the ICC match referee within five days of the incident.

Du Plessis’ footage - which has proved him guilty of altering the state of the ball based on the evidence that “showed an artificial substance being transferred to the ball” - was brought to the ICC’s notice within five days, following which it reviewed the footage and then decided if it merited investigation. The charge on du Plessis was brought after the investigation. The footage of Kohli and Warner didn’t even reach the stage where the ICC would decide if they merited an investigation. The Kohli footage is from the second innings of the Rajkot Test, which began on November 9. Warner’s is from day three of the Hobart Test, which began on November 12.

Only the match umpires, CEOs of the two participating boards or the ICC CEO can report an alleged offence under the ICC Code of Conduct. Apart from those made by the ICC CEO, the other reports under Level 1 and 2 — du Plessis’ was a Level 2 offence — have to be made within 48 hours of the event. If the ICC CEO makes the report, it has to be done inside five days.

The Level 2 charge on du Plessis was laid by the ICC CEO David Richardson on November 18, three days after the incident. Offences under Level 3 and 4 can be reported within seven days but it is fair to assume Kohli and Warner — if they merited being charged — would not have been charged for a more serious offence than du Plessis’.

Whether the available footage of other players allegedly introducing artificial substances to the ball brings any change to how the ICC deals with ball-tampering depends on either the MCC or the ICC cricket committee.