Sehwag: Dhoni was not banned for barging into ground; Rathi’s suspension ‘harsh’
LSG bowler Digvesh Rathi accumulated five demerit points to face a one-match ban after his altercation with SRH batter Abhishek Sharma
Former India cricketer Virender Sehwag has questioned the BCCI over handing a one-match ban to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) spinner Digvesh Rathi by citing the example of MS Dhoni, who did not face any punishment for barging into the ground in IPL 2019.
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On May 20, Rathi was fined 50 per cent of his match fees for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct during his team’s match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow.
This was his third Level 1 offence under Article 2.5 this season and hence, he has accumulated Two Demerit Points, in addition to Three Demerit Points he had accumulated earlier – One Demerit Point against Punjab Kings on April 1, and Two Demerit Points against Mumbai Indians on April 4.
“As he now has Five Demerit points this season – which result in a one-game suspension – Digvesh will now be suspended for LSG’s next game – against Gujarat Titans on May 22, 2025 in Ahmedabad,” BCCI said in a media release.
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Rathi had an altercation with SRH opening batter Abhishek Sharma.
What Sehwag said
Sehwag felt the ban was “a bit harsh” as he was playing his first year in the IPL. He also said that Dhoni was not banned, and Virat Kohli too was not suspended for speaking to the umpires.
“I thought that the ban was a bit harsh. The boy is playing in his first year in the IPL. MS Dhoni had barged into the ground, he was not banned then. Virat Kohli has spoken to umpires in that tone, who knows how many times, he was also not banned. So, Digvesh Rathi could have been spared, because he is a young player, just coming into the scene, could have let that one go,” Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.
Dhoni had barged onto the ground over a no-ball call decision during Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) match against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in IPL 2019. CSK had won that last-ball thriller in Jaipur.