Du Plessis surprised ICC took no action against Smith, Kohli
South African captain Faf du Plessis has been left "surprised" after neither Steve Smith nor Virat Kohli was charged by ICC over the Bengaluru Test DRS row. Du Plessis said he was surprised because he was charged by ICC over an alleged ball-tampering offence in November last year, which according to him was "a lot smaller and a lot lesser".
South African skipper Faf du Plessis has been left "surprised" after neither Steve Smith nor Virat Kohli was charged with any breaches of the International Cricket Council's (ICC) Code of Conduct after the second Test of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia played in Bengaluru. (Virat Kohli hopes surface tension keeps India afloat in Ranchi)CLICK TO WATCH FULL INTERVIEWFollowing India's 75-run win in Bengaluru, Kohli had said Australia took help from their dressing room on at least three occasions before making their mind up on DRS reviews in the Test. (Foreign newspaper makes startling claim against Virat Kohli)The incident took place in the 21st over of the Australia's second innings on Day Four when Smith was trapped LBW by pacer Umesh Yadav, a delivery that went underground and struck the former just above his left boot in front of middle stump. (DRS row: BCCI, Cricket Australia call truce in joint meet)Having already blown a DRS call, involving David Warner, the Australians were in a fix on whether to seek another for Smith. (Australia respect Virat Kohli despite 'offensive' claims)The Australian skipper first turned to non-striker Peter Handscomb's end to discuss the merit of reviewing umpire Nigel Llong's decision but were quickly denied a referral when the latter spotted both batsmen looking in the direction of the dressing room. (DRS Row: BCCI officially complains to ICC against Smith, Handscomb)The ICC, however, confirmed that no charges were laid against Smith, India captain Kohli, or any other player under the ICC Code of Conduct. (Steve Smith escapes ICC sanction after DRS mess)ICC Chief Executive David Richardson in a statement said, "We have just witnessed a magnificent game of Test cricket where players from both teams gave their all and emotions were running high during and after the match. (BCCI throws its weight behind Virat Kohli as DRS row heats up)"We would encourage both teams to focus their energies on the third Test in Ranchi next week. Ahead of that, the match referee will bring both captains together to remind them of their responsibilities to the game." (Take action against Steve Smith for infringing DRS rules: Sourav Ganguly to Aaj Tak)Now, Du Plessis thinks that actions of both the players were more serious than his own offence of shining the ball with the aid of an artificial substance three months ago, for which he was charged by the ICC.The 32-year-old was found guilty of breaching Article 2.2.9 of the ICC Code of Conduct after television footage appeared to show him chewing a white lolly in his mouth, licking his finger on the mint before repeatedly shining and rubbing the ball during the fourth dayâ??s play of the second Test against Australia in Hobart in November. (Exclusive: Michael Clarke endorses Virat Kohli's stance on Steve Smith's DRS controversy)