New Delhi: On a high-stake Monday night when Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) was looking for playoff qualification, tempers stole the show in the Indian Premier League (IPL) match in
Hyderabad. LSG spinner Digvesh Rathi, already infamous for his provocative celebration, clashed with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) opener Abhishek Sharma, triggering a disciplinary action on the two cricketers.
It was the eighth over and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SH), chasing a daunting 206 runs in 20 overs, were in cruise control, thanks to Abhishek’s blistering 59 runs off just 20 balls. Enter Digvesh Rathi. The leg break spinner, summoned by LSG captain Rishabh Pant to break the momentum, delivered immediately—inducing a catch to extra cover that ended Abhishek’s cameo.
Then came the moment: Rathi unfurled his trademark ‘notebook’ celebration, scribbling an imaginary note in the air and glaring at the departing Sharma to send him off.
Words exchanged as Digvesh Rathi gets the wicket of Abhishek Sharma 👀 pic.twitter.com/pPH9KFCW0A
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) May 19, 2025
The gesture, already a sore point among rivals, proved too much for Sharma. He stopped, turned, and marched back towards Rathi, words flying and tempers flaring. Umpires and teammates rushed to intervene, separating the two before things could escalate further.
Already fired up from his crucial breakthrough, Rathi was riding a surge of adrenaline. But Abhishek, unfazed, responded with an aggressive gesture The tension lingered. During the post-match handshake, Lucknow’s assistant coach Vijay Dahiya was seen mediating between the two, with Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) vice-president Rajeev Shukla stepping in to cool tempers.
The IPL’s disciplinary committee acted swiftly. Rathi, already skating on thin ice after two earlier breaches of the Article 2.5 of the league’s Code of Conduct, was slapped with a 50 percent match fee fine and a one-match suspension—his third Level 1 infraction this season. With five demerit points accumulated, Rathi will now miss LSG’s last match against the Gujarat Titans.
Sharma was docked 25 percent of his match fee, marking his first Code of Conduct violation of the ongoing season.
The incident has not only left Lucknow Super Giants without their breakthrough spinner for a must-win game, but also cast a shadow over Rathi’s promising rookie campaign. Rathi is LSG’s leading wicket-taker with 14 dismissals to his name, placing him 12th on the IPL purple cap leaderboard.
For Sunrisers, the win marked a successful 200-plus chase, but the post-match narrative was dominated by the altercation, not the cricket.
Former India cricketer Suresh Raina was scathing in his assessment on JioStar, highlighting the repeated nature of Rathi’s offences and the embarrassment of two Indian players clashing publicly.
“He was sold for Rs 30 lakh. Digvesh has been fined twice, and the third fine is on the way. What would he take home after the IPL?” Raina questioned, referencing Rathi’s mounting penalties. “It is not good to see two Indian players having a go at each other.”
“Digvesh Rathi’s notebook now has Abhishek Sharma’s name added to it… What is happening is quite wrong actually, these two are Indian players,” he asserted.
Later, Abhishek said that it was “all good” with Rathi after SRH won the match with 10 balls to spare.
“Chasing such a total we had a clear plan. If you ask any player who has been doing well for the team, chasing 200 plus something you should be able to win the powerplay. I wanted to express myself and if I do well, I know the team is gonna do well as well,” the SRH batsman said in a post-match chat.
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Repeat offender
Rathi’s ‘notebook’ celebration has become as much a part of his persona as his leg spin. But for all its entertainment value, it has repeatedly landed him in hot water. This season alone, Rathi has breached the Article 2.5 of the IPL Code of Conduct thrice, each instance escalating the scrutiny on his on-field behaviour.
Article 2.5 includes any language, action or gesture used by a player and directed towards a batter upon his/her dismissal which has the potential to provoke an aggressive reaction from the dismissed batter, whether or not any reaction results, or which could be considered to disparage or demean the dismissed batter, regardless of whether the batter him/herself feels disparaged or demeaned
Rathi had received one demerit point for his celebration and aggressive approach towards Punjab Kings’ Priyansh Arya on 1 April, and two more demerit points for repeating his ‘notebook’ send-off after dismissing Mumbai Indians’ Naman Dhir on 4 April. Following the initial incident against Punjab Kings, match officials explained to Rathi the reason behind his penalty. However, when he was sanctioned again three days later, Rathi claimed he believed his first punishment was solely for charging at the batter, not for the celebration itself.
Each episode has followed a familiar script: a wicket, the notebook flourish, and a rival bristling at the perceived disrespect. While some see it as youthful exuberance, umpires, opponents, and now the IPL’s disciplinary panel view it as a pattern of provocation that crosses the line.
For fans, his celebrations are meme-worthy and inject drama into the IPL. For coaches and administrators, they risk undermining the spirit of the game. With a suspension now on his record and LSG’s playoff hopes hanging by a thin thread, the question is no longer whether Rathi will rein in his aggression, but whether he can channel it without courting controversy in his career ahead.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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