Calcutta/Perth: Indian pacer Ishant Sharma could find himself in trouble after giving a middle-finger salute to locals during the team’s visit to a go-karting track in Perth on Monday, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

The incident comes only days after batsman Virat Kohli was fined half his match fee for the same gesture towards the crowd during the SCG Test. Kohli claimed on Twitter that spectators were shouting abuse about his mother and sister, but later expressed regret.

Quite a few Indian cricketers, including captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar, went for go-karting and were apparently ruffled to see cameras and mediapersons following them in hot trail.

Despite all attempts to keep the media out of bounds, they took their pictures and videos much to the cricketers’ annoyance. It was in the resultant melee that Ishant lost his cool and showed his middle finger to a heckling crowd, the reports claimed.

Team media manager G. S. Walia said he was not aware of any such incident.

“I am not aware of any such incident… ,” he said.

It is understood Sharma was reacting to taunts from members of the public that India would find themselves down 3-0 in the series by the end of the Perth Test.

Kohli got away with a fine after Match Referee Ranjan Madugalle is understood to have given him the option of admitting his guilt and the young batsman promptly grabbed that lifeline.

Had Kohli chosen to contest the Level 2 charge, that of having engaged in an obscene gesture at the SCG on Wednesday afternoon, he wouldn’t have got away with only a 50 per cent deduction of his match fee. Ishant’s offence, however. doesn’t come under the purview of Madugalle.

The Indians are due to resume training on Tuesday.