BCCI hasn't issued notice to Virat Kohli for meeting Anushka Sharma during IPL match: Rajeev Shukla

New Delhi: Indian Premier League (IPL) governing council chairman Rajeev Shukla on Tuesday backed Virat Kohli over his controversial meeting with girlfriend Anushka Sharma during a match and said there was no need to issue a notice to the batsman as it wasn't a big issue.

The statement came after the stylish right-hander broke the players' protocol on Sunday as he was seen alongside his girlfriend during the 55th match of the IPL played at M Chinnaswamy Stadium between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Shukla said that it wasn't a big issue and there is no need to issue to notice to the batsman as the Board for Cricket Control in India (BCCI) hadn't received any information about the incident from the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB).

"There is no need to issue a notice to Virat. If Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) thought there was something wrong, they would have sorted it there itself. Technically, they should not have done that. When the ACB hasn't sent a report to the BCCI, why should we send a notice to Virat? I will ask the players to follow the protocol," he said.

Shukla further added, "Anushka wasn't an outsider, but still she should have avoided such a situation."

Notably, soon after the Delhi Daredevils batted first and posted a formidable score of 187 runs on the board against Bangalore, there was a rain interruption after Virat and Chris Gayle came to bat in the second innings. As RCB's scorecard read 2/0, the rain Gods intervened and the players went off the field.

Within minutes, Kohli was seen in the corridor right next to the VIP box where Anushka Sharma was seated. The 26-year-old then went upto Anushka and the visual was shown on the giant screen in the stadium as well by the host broadcaster.

According to the BCCI's Anti Corruption Policy, players are barred from talking or mixing with people when the game is on. Even though there was a rain interruption, the match was not technically over.