Indian captain Virat Kohli could be in hot water after appearing to address the Hagley Oval crowd yesterday with a foul-mouthed taunt.
Kohli was eccentric after the fall of any New Zealand wicket yesterday during the second Test in Christchurch, but it was the dismissal of Black Caps opener Tom Latham that really fired him up.
After Latham was bowled for 52 by Mohammed Shami without playing a shot, Kohli instantly turned to the crowd and let out a huge roar.
Kohli then followed that up by putting a finger over his mouth to shush the spectators before appearing to say, "Shut the f*** up."
It's not the first time Kohli has laid into the Hagley Oval faithful during the Test, with the captain snapped mocking fans who were drinking on day one.
Kohli's actions could invoke a response from match referee Ranjan Madugalle much in the same way Trent Boult was handled last year during an ODI against Bangladesh at the same venue.
Boult was fined 15 per cent of his match fee for "use of an audible obscenity during an international match", which is a breach of article 2.3 of the ICC's code of conduct.
Yesterday's incident was a large contrast to the picture painted by the ICC earlier this year when Kohli was given the Spirit of Cricket award for his actions at last year's World Cup when he gestured to the crowd to stop booing tainted Australian batsman Steve Smith and urged them to clap instead.
Kohli has struggled significantly during India's tour of New Zealand, posting just one 50 across five T20s, three ODIs and the two Tests. Across the formats, he's averaging 19.8 runs.
In the Test series alone, Kohli has scores of two, 19, three and 14 in Wellington and Christchurch respectively.
Kohli's latest dismissal was part of a big collapse from India, who will now begin day three 90/6 with a 97-run lead over New Zealand.
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