Rovman Powell and Sherfane Rutherford of the West Indies have been handed official reprimands for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct during the second Men’s T20I against India in Ranchi on Friday.
Powell was found to have breached Article 2.2 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to “abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fittings during an International Match” and Rutherford was found to have breached Article 2.8, which relates to “showing dissent at an Umpire’s decision during an International Match.”
In addition to this, one demerit point has been added to the disciplinary records of the players, for both of whom it was the first offence in a 24-month period. According to ICC, the Demerit Points to remain on a Player or Player Support Personnel’s disciplinary record for a period of twenty-four (24) months from their imposition following which they will be expunged.
In the sixth over of the West Indies innings, Powell – after being dismissed bowled by Mayank Yadav – hit the ball away with his bat, constituting a breach. Rutherford’s offence came in the 13th over, when he yelled aggressively at the umpire after a delivery he believed was wide was ruled to be legitimate.
Both players admitted their offences and accepted the sanctions proposed by Prakash Bhatt of the Emirates ICC International Panel of Match Referees, so there was no need for formal hearings.
On-field umpires Jayaraman Madanagopal and Rohan Pandit, third umpire Nitin Menon and fourth umpire Virender Sharma levelled the charges.
Notably, if both the players reach four or more demerit points in their individual capacity in the 24-month period, they will be eligible for a ban as the points translate into suspension. Furthermore, two suspension points equate to a ban from one Test or two ODIs or two T20Is, whatever comes first for the West Indies cricketer(s).
