Ravindra Jadeja fined for applying cream on swollen index finger without permission from umpires

India’s hero in the opening Test victory over Australia here, Ravindra Jadeja was on Saturday fined 25 per cent of his match fee for applying cream on the swollen index finger of his bowling hand without taking permission from the on-field umpires on the first day of the match. Jadeja, who returned figures of 7/81 and contributed 70 runs in the match that India won by an innings and 132 runs, was seen in a video receiving something from pace bowler Mohammed Siraj and rubbing it on his left index finger.

The Indian all-rounder’s act had the Australian media and a former player “interested”, but the ICC said the cream was applied to the finger purely for medical purposes and it did not change the condition of the ball.

Jadeja action was deemed to have breached “Article 2.20 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to displaying conduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game”.

“India spin bowler Ravindra Jadeja has been fined 25 per cent of his match fee for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct during the first Test against Australia in Nagpur on Thursday,” the ICC said in a statement.

“In addition to this, one demerit point has been added to Jadeja’s disciplinary record, for whom it was the first offence in a 24-month period.”

The ICC said the incident occurred in the 46th over of Australia’s first innings, when Jadeja applied “a soothing cream to a swelling on the index finger of his bowling hand without asking for permission to do so from the on-field umpires”.

Jadeja admitted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by Andy Pycroft of the ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees, so there was no need for a formal hearing. “In reaching his decision to sanction the player along with the Level 1 sanction he imposed, the Match Referee was satisfied that the cream was applied to the finger purely for medical purposes.

“The cream was not applied as an artificial substance to the ball and consequently it did not change the condition of the ball, which would have been in breach of clause 41.3 of the ICC playing conditions — Unfair Play-The Match Ball — Changing its Condition.”

On-field umpires Nitin Menon and Richard Illingworth, third umpire Michael Gough and fourth umpire KN Ananthapadmanabhan levelled the charge.

Level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand, a maximum penalty of 50 per cent of a player’s match fee, and one or two demerit points.