World No. 1 Test bowler, Ravindra Jadeja, has been suspended from the third Test of the series, which is to be played at Pallekele, Kandy. 28-year old Jadeja was handed three demerit points for he threw the ball at Sri Lankan batsman, Malinda Pushpakumara, “in a dangerous manner” in his follow-through.
The incident had taken place during the 58th over of Sri Lanka’s second innings, just before Stumps on Day 3. It was in breach of article 2.2.8 of the player’s code of conduct which deals with “throwing a ball (or any other item of cricket equipment such as a water bottle) at or near a Player, Player Support Personnel, Umpire, Match Referee or any other third person in an inappropriate and/or dangerous manner during an International Match”.
Jadeja was already handed three demerit points for running on the pitch during a Test match against New Zealand at Indore last year. According to ICC’s code of conduct, with six demerit points in a 24-month period, a player falls under the category of being suspended for one Test match, two ODIs or two T20Is, whichever comes first.
Jadeja admitted to the offence and accepted his sanction by match referee Richie Richardson. The suspension was not the only loss for Jadeja for he was also 50% of the match fees. Jadeja was adjourned the ‘Man of the Match’ in this test. In what was his 9th 5-wicket haul, bowling figures of 39-5-152-5 were the key behind India dismissing the home team on 386 in 116.5 overs.
Having already gained an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series, India will have an option to test the bench strength in the absence of Jadeja. Kuldeep Yadav remains the front runner in replacing Jadeja. Watch the video of the incident due to which Jadeja was handed three demerit points yesterday:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NPFoQkaNa4
Watch how Twitter reacted on Jadeja’s suspension:
https://twitter.com/akshaypasu/status/894170988648189956
https://twitter.com/viveksrivasta17/status/894182091042062336
Would you have done this to an English/Aussie bowler? Shame on #ICC not #RavindraJadeja. Let's c when you'll apply the same rule again
— JustAHumanMind (@StockManiaker) August 6, 2017
Don't know why #Ravindrajadeja commit such offenses when your team is well. anyway Kohli must test the bench strength in the final test.
— Totlani Krishan🇮🇳 (Modi Ka Parivar) (@kktotlani) August 6, 2017
