Team India on Wednesday defeated Bangladesh in a crucial T20 World Cup 2022 match in Adelaide by 5 runs. In the rail-curtailed match, Team India managed to hold their nerves in order to secure their third win in the elite tournament and bolster their chances to qualify for the T20 World Cup semi-final. However, India vs Bangladesh T20 World Cup 2022 match ended on a sour note when Bangladeshi player Nurul Hasan accused Virat Kohli of doing 'fake fielding' and accused umpires of not paying attention so that they could award Shakib Al Hasan 5 penalty runs. Interestingly, more than Bangladeshi fans, Pakistani fans and journalists started expressing their rage on social media and as a result, Virat Kohli fake fielding became a hot topic. In fact, a Pakistani journalist accused the BCCI of controlling everything and as a result, the broadcasters or even umpires did not pay attention. On this, cricket analyst and commentator Harsha Bhogle slammed him over his 'delusional' logic.
The Pakistani journalist named Kamran Yousef took to his Twitter handle and stated, "Because BCCI controls everything including the broadcaster and commentators so certainly they won't show us the stuff that hurt India." The journalist was responding to Harsha Bhogle's take on Virat Kohli fake fielding row. In response, Harsha slammed him and wrote, "I can understand ignorance but I am blown by how delusional and myopic you are. Luckily, your players don't think like you and backed themselves today. Do wake up to a wider world where your performance determines your progress. You owe it to your readers and viewers"
I can understand ignorance but I am blown by how delusional and myopic you are. Luckily, your players don't think like you and backed themselves today. Do wake up to a wider world where your performance determines your progress. You owe it to your readers and viewers https://t.co/VYo34GRiUh
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) November 3, 2022
What Harsha Bhogle said on the fake fielding row?
Harsha on the overall controversy wrote on his Twitter, "On the fake fielding incident, the truth is that nobody saw it. The umpires didn't, the batters didn't and we didn't either. Law 41.5 does make provision for penalising fake fielding (the umpire still has to interpret it thus) but no one saw it. So what do you do!...
"I don't think anyone can complain about the ground being wet. Shakib was right when he said it should favour the batting side. The umpires and curators have to keep the game going till it is not possible to do so. And they handled it very well so that minimum time was lost..
"So, for my friends in Bangladesh, please don't look at fake fielding or wet conditions as a reason for not reaching the target. If one of the batters had stayed till the end, Bangladesh could have won it. We are all guilty of it....when we search for excuses, we don't grow."
What does ICC's law suggest?
As per ICC's Cricket's Law 41.5, pertaining to unfair play, prohibits the "deliberate distraction, deception or obstruction of [the] batter", and if an incident is deemed to be a breach, the umpire can declare that particular delivery as dead ball, and award the batting side five runs. However, in terms of Virat Kohli fake fielding case, True Scoop understands that the ruling, which needs to be made by the umpires in real-time, is about the attempt to deceive the batters, rather than them actually being deceived.