(Reuters) – India spinner Ravindra Jadeja has been suspended for the third and final test against Sri Lanka at the Pallekele stadium after accumulating six demerit points over a 24-month period, the Interna-tional Cricket Council (ICC) said yesterday.
Jadeja was named man of the match for the second test after scoring 70 with the bat in the first innings and picking up five wickets in Sri Lanka’s final inanings to lead India to a series-clinching victory in Colombo.
The 28-year-old had entered the match with three demerit points that he picked up for running down the middle of the pitch while batting during the Indore test against New Zealand in October 2016. He was handed a further three demerit points in the second test against Sri Lanka for an incident on Saturday when he fielded the ball off his own bowling and threw it back at batsman Dimuth Karunaratne, who had not left his crease.
The ICC said that Jadeja breached article 2.2.8 of the player’s code of conduct which prohibits “throwing a ball (or any other item of cricket equipment such as a water bottle) at or near a Player… in an inappropriate and/or dangerous manner during an International Match”.
He was fined 50 percent of his match fee, the ICC added. ICC rules state that crossing the four demerit points threshold results in two suspension points.
The ICC said that two suspension points equate to a ban from one test or two ODIs or two T20Is, whatever comes first. As such, Jadeja will miss the third test that will take place from Aug 12-16.
The sport’s governing body said that Jadeja had admitted to the offence and accepted the sanction and therefore, there was no need for a formal hearing.
