Fact Check: Has Virat Kohli been banned from IPL?

The social media has been abuzz with claims that Virat Kohli the stand-in skipper of the Royal Challengers Bangalore has been banned from the Indian Premier League (IPL).

A postcard has gone viral with the claim. It features a picture of Kohli alongside a stamp that says, 'banned.' The postcard was made in a breaking news format and reads, "official news is yet to confirm what went wrong. Sources say Virat Kohli will miss..."

We have found that Virat Kohli has not been banned yet. There were just apprehensions following his team maintaining a slow over rate for two matches.

Had Kohli been banned the news would have been all over the internet. He is one of the most prized Indian players and such a news would have been splashed as a headline. We further checked more sporting websites and also the official site of the BCCI and found no such news.

This report from the Mint said that Kohli and the rest of the team have received fines due to a slow over rate during their match against Rajasthan Royals. The league has fined the RCB captain Rs 24 lakh, while each of the other team mates have received lesser fines.

This report in the Times of India says that IPL teams while bowling are expected to complete an innings in 90 minutes. Non-compliance of the rules are subject to fines. The captain of the side flouting this rule is fined Rs 12 lakh for the first time.

When a team is found guilty of maintaining a slow over rate for the second time in the same season, the captain is fined Rs 24 lakh. The rest of the team is either fined Rs 6 lakh or 25 per cent of their match fee. When a team is held guilty for a third time then the captain is fined Rs 30 lakh and is also handed a one match ban. The rest of the team is penalised as well.

The question of Kohli getting a one match ban in the event of another slow over rate by the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Kohli was named RCB's stand-in captain for the game agaScreenshot 2023-05-02 at 8.28.47 AM.pnginst the Punjab Kings in late April. The regular skipper, Fat du Plessis would bat but not field after sustaining an injury in the team's last match against Chennai Super Kings on April 17.

"Faf will play the impact role again tonight. We are playing the same team as the last game. Hopefully, he will lead from the next game onwards but yeah tonight he will play the same role that he played in the last 2 games," Kohli had said.

Hence it is clear that the viral postcard claiming that Virat Kohli has been banned from the IPL is fake.