Mumbai: Delhi Capitals captain and Team India star Rishabh Pant has been docked 100% of his match fees for unsportsmanlike behaviour during the IPL-15 match against Rajasthan Royals last night.
The Wankhede Stadium witnessed scenes which are rare on a cricket field as Pant, in a show of open dissent and discontentment against umpires’ decision, furiously waved at the two batsmen in the middle – Rovman Powell and Kuldeep Yadav – to leave the field without the match having been completed.
It was the final over of the match, with Delhi Capitals needing as many as 36 runs to win. To everyone’s amazement, Powell hit fellow-West Indian Obed McCoy for sixes off his three deliveries. The third ball was a high full toss which was put away over midwicket, but Delhi players felt it was above waist high and wanted a no-ball to be called.
Players and support staff at the dugout kept gesticulating and demanded that the third umpire should have a look. Pant even persuaded agitated assistant coach Pravin Amre to go out on the field and speak to the on-field umpires, who stuck to their guns.
Saner sense eventually prevailed in the Delhi camp and the game resumed. Powell failed to repeat his heroics of the first three balls, and Delhi lost by 15 runs.
But Pant and Amre were on Saturday fined their entire match fees for breaching the IPL’s Code of Conduct.
“Mr Pant admitted to the Level 2 offence under Article 2.7 of the IPL Code of Conduct and accepted the sanction,” an IPL statement said.
However, the harshest fine has been copped by Delhi Capitals assistant coach Praveen Amre, who ran into the ground, presumably under the orders of DC camp or Pant and argued with the umpire about the incident. It needs to be mentioned here that DC did not have their head coach Ricky Ponting in the middle yesterday, who has been put into isolation after one of his family members tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
“Pravin Amre, Assistant Coach, Delhi Capitals has been fined 100 per cent of his match-fee for breaching the TATA IPL’s Code of Conduct during his team’s match against Rajasthan Royals at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. He will also face a one-match ban for the offence,” said the IPL release.
