Virat Kohli won't pay BCCI's ‘100% match-fee’ punishment fine for fight. Who will? What about Gautam Gambhir?

What is the amount Kohli, Gambhir and Naveen will pay as a fine? Who will pay it? Here are all the details related to IPL Code of Conduct and franchise norms.

It has been three days since Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir clashed after an IPL 2023 match between Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Ekana Stadium but interest around it refuses to die. Such was the unexpectedness of the unpleasant sight of two noted names of Indian cricket nearly coming to blows on the cricket field that legends like Sunil Gavaskar and Virender Sehwag felt the ‘100% fine’ imposed by BCCI was not enough. They should have gotten a stricter punishment, they felt.

Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli were docked full match fees for their on-field behaviour in IPL

There are different levels of offences according to the IPL Code of Conduct and for each offence or breach of the conduct, there is a defined fine. The match referee, in consultation with the on-field umpires, deemed Kohli and Gambhir's act a violation of Article 2.21 of the IPL Code of Conduct, which deals with “all types of conduct that bring the game into disrepute.”

The IPL Playing Conditions further add that "the person lodging the report shall determine where on the range of severity the conduct lays." In this case, the match referee and umpires decided that Kohli and Gambhir's breach falls under Level 2 and hence, they were fined 100% of their match fees. LSG pacer Naveen-ul-Haq, who too was found breaching Article 2.21, was fined 50% of his match fee as his offence was deemed to be a Level 1.

Apart from whether the full match fee deduction was enough for the ruckus Kohli and Gambhir created on Monday, there was another debate going on side by side. What is the amount Kohli, Gambhir and Naveen will pay as a fine? Unlike international matches, the IPL match fee is not pre-determined. It depends on various aspects like the player's auction price, his actual salary in case he was retained (like Kohli), and the number of matches the franchise plays in a season.

Kohli, for instance, reportedly draws a yearly salary of ₹15 crore from RCB. If we take into consideration the guaranteed 14 matches RCB - or any other franchise - will play in one season then his match fee will come around ₹1.07 crore. If RCB reach the playoffs then the amount will be less.

What is interesting to note here, is that, whatever the amount for the fine is, Kohli won't be the one paying it. "Players put their bodies on the line for the team and we respect that and as a culture, we don't cut the fine from their salaries," an RCB source told Cricbuzz. This means it will be RCB who will pay Kohli's fine. And this is not just for Kohli. The franchise will play fines for its players throughout the league.

Furthermore, RCB are not the only franchise involved in this practice. In fact, this is a common thing among most teams in the IPL. They are the ones who pay the fine instead of deducting it from the players' salaries.

However, there are some teams which make the players, including the captains pay for their Code of Conduct breaches, including over-rate offences.

But what about Gambhir? The former India opener is the mentor of LSG and unlike Kohli or Naveen, doesn't have an auction or retention price attached to him. Whatever salary he draws from LSG is strictly between him and the franchise owners. All the amounts circulating on social media are nothing but speculation. As far as who pays the amount is concerned, it is likely to be the same as RCB. LSG will be the one paying for Gambhir and Naveen's fine.