Delhi Capitals’ captain Rishabh Pant has been suspended for one match due to a breach of the IPL Code of Conduct during the team’s recent clash against Rajasthan Royals. The slow over-rate maintained by his team during the match led to the penalty. As a consequence, Pant will be absent from a crucial fixture against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday.
In addition to the suspension, Pant has been fined INR 30 lakh. Furthermore, other members of the Delhi Capitals playing XI, including the Impact Player, have been individually fined either INR 12 lakh or 50% of their respective match fees, whichever is lesser. This marks Pant’s third over-rate breach this IPL season.
Following the match, DC filed an appeal challenging the ruling of the match referee under Article 8 of the IPL Code of Conduct. The appeal was referred to the BCCI ombudsman for review, who affirmed the match referee’s decision as final and binding after conducting a virtual hearing. DC’s director of cricket Sourav Ganguly, head coach Ricky Ponting, and CEO Sunil Gupta appeared on behalf of the team during the hearing.
DC cited several reasons for the delay in their appeal, including the number of sixes hit by RR batters and the controversial Sanju Samson dismissal decision, which consumed extra time. However, it was ruled that no statistical information was submitted explaining the exact additional time consumed by these events.
In the IPL, each team is allowed 85 minutes (4.25 minutes per over) to complete their 20 overs. However, DC took 117.82 minutes to complete their 20 overs against RR, violating the minimum over-rate requirements under the Code of Conduct.
The suspension comes at a crucial juncture for DC, who are fighting for playoffs qualification. Currently sitting fifth on the table with 12 points and a net run rate of -0.316, they will need to win their remaining fixtures and rely on other results to remain in contention for the playoffs.
