Surprised with ICC's handling of Smith and Kohli, says du Plessis

South Africa Test captain Faf du Plessis has criticised the International Cricket Council (ICC) for not penalising Australia skipper Steven Smith and India's Virat Kohli following the controversy over improper use of the Decision Review System (DRS) during the recent Test in Bengaluru.

Smith had looked at the Australian dressing room apparently asking whether to call for the DRS after being trapped leg before by Indian fast bowler Umesh Yadav during Australia's second innings.

That led to a furious reaction from the Indians and Kohli had implied that Smith was cheating while talking to the media after the match.

Both boards had backed their respective captains but the ICC tried to calm situation by deciding not to take action against either team.

But the decision of the game's global governing body has not gone down well with du Plessis.

The South Africa captain, who was fined 100 percent of his match fee and received three demerit points when he applied an artificial substance to shine the ball during a Test against Australia in Hobart in November last year, asserted that he expects the ICC to treat every team in an equal manner.

"I was (surprised that no one was charged) purely from the reason of what I went through for something I feel was a lot smaller and a lot less... whatever you want to call it. So yes, surprised with that," he was quoted as saying by cricbuzz.com.

"It (ICC's response to the incident) was different. I am surprised by the way it happened. Maybe it's just because I speak on from a personal point of view and I felt that I was treated very harsh but when you see something like that you hope that it would be exactly the same," he added.

The 32-year-old also ruled out the possibility of a similar confrontation between South Africa and New Zealand players during the ongoing three-match Test series.

"Us and New Zealand are very similar in the way we play. We respect each other on and off the field and we play a similar brand of cricket. We don't see that the way you carry on off the field will have an effect on the outcome," du Plessis said.

"When you play a team like India and Australia that can happen and it's easy to see how that can blow up. For me it has been good to be on the other side for a bit and to see how things unfold. It would have been interesting to see how the Australian media would have reacted to me doing that."

--IANS

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