Siraj slapped with ‘big penalty’ by ICC!
After the much-talked incident on the 4th day at the Lord’s, India pacer Mohammed Siraj has been fined 15 per cent of his match fee after a breach of the ICC Code of Conduct. Siraj was accused of ‘crossing the line’ in his celebration of the dismissal of England opener Ben Duckett, prompting the hosts’ former skipper Alastair Cook to demand a hefty penalty against the pacer. The ICC paid heed to Cook’s suggestion and announced a penalty, as well as a demerit point for the pacer on Monday. The incident happened on the fourth day when Siraj produced a fiery opening spell to claim the scalps of Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope. After dismissing Duckett, the pacer celebrated, coming closer to the batsman in his follow-through and making contact as the opener began his walk back to the Lord’s long room. Siraj was guilty of breaching Article 2.5 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to “using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batter upon his/her dismissal during an International Match”. In addition to the fine, one demerit point has been added to Siraj’s disciplinary record, for whom it was the second offence in 24 months, taking his tally to two demerit points. “Mohammed Siraj has been fined 15 per cent of his match fee after a breach in the ICC Code of Conduct during India’s Test match against England at Lord’s,” said the ICC in a statement. “After the dismissal, Siraj celebrated close to the batter in his follow-through and made contact as Duckett began his walk back to the Lord’s long room,” the statement added. When a player reaches four or more demerit points within 24 months, they are converted into suspension points, and the player is banned. “That’s unacceptable, but who is to blame now? Whether Duckett walked right into him and knew exactly what he was doing. Then again, you shouldn’t shout in someone’s face like that. I wholeheartedly say that was wrong. There should be no physical contact. Yes, celebrate a wicket like you mean it. But you’ve got him out; you don’t need to look him in the eye from three inches and shout in his face. So I expect there to be repercussions, and there should be repercussions. That is my opinion. I thought that crossed the line,” Cook had said on the BBC Test Match Special on Sunday. The moment was one of several fiery moments in a Test match likely to go down to the wire on day five.
National Sports Bill to be discussed during monsoon session: Mandaviya
Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday said the long-awaited National Sports Governance Bill will be tabled in Parliament during the monsoon session beginning July 21. The minister, while speaking to the media on the sidelines of an event to launch the Department of Youth Affairs’ initiatives against drug addiction, also reiterated the government’s position that Pakistani athletes will not be stopped from coming to India for multi-lateral sporting engagements. “The bill will be tabled in the Parliament during the upcoming session. I will give more details in a couple of days,” Mandaviya said. The bill seeks to ensure greater accountability for the country’s sports administrators with the provision of a regulatory board that would have the power to grant recognition and decide funding to National Sports Federations (NSFs) based on their adherence to provisions related to good governance. The board will also be responsible for ensuring compliance with the highest governance, financial, and ethical standards. In addition, the draft sports bill proposes the establishment of Ethics Commissions and Dispute Resolution Commissions to ensure transparency in governance. It has been debated for a long time and has even been opposed by the Indian Olympic Association, which feels that a regulatory board would undermine its standing as the nodal body for all NSFs. Mandaviya reasserted the government’s position that Pakistan’s participation in international sports engagements in India won’t be stopped despite the turbulent relations that have further deteriorated in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack in April. Next month’s men’s Asia Cup hockey tournament (Bihar), the FIH Junior World Cup in November-December (Tamil Nadu), and the junior shooting World Cup (New Delhi) in September-October are the major events where Pakistani participation is expected.
Today’s India-Uzbekistan women’s friendly will be a closed-door match
The Indian under-20 women’s football team will face Uzbekistan in an international friendly on Monday after the fixture, scheduled a day prior, was cancelled. “The U20 Women’s International Friendly between India and Uzbekistan, scheduled for today in Tashkent, has been called off due to operational challenges at the Do’stlik stadium,” the All India Football Federation said in a statement on Sunday. However, it was later confirmed that the match will take place on July 14. There’s a second game between the two sides two days later at the same stadium. Monday’s match will not be live-streamed, with both teams mutually agreeing to play behind closed doors. India’s friendly matches in Uzbekistan are part of its preparation for the upcoming AFC U-20 Women’s Asian Cup Qualifiers, where it will face Indonesia (6th August), Turkmenistan (8th August), and Myanmar (10th August) in Yangon. The group winner and the three best runners-up across all eight groups will qualify for the final tournament in Thailand next year.
Ashwin slams Reiffel’s ‘biased’ umpiring at Lords
Former India cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin has criticized umpire Paul Reiffel over officiating incidents in the Lord’s Test, which is poised on a knife’s edge heading into the final day on Monday. R Ashwin has called out Reiffel’s umpiring by pointing out some of the decisions that went against India. “My experience with Paul Reiffel… I want to talk to him. I am not saying that I should tell him to give it out. It’s not like that. Whenever India bowls, he always feels it’s not out. Whenever India bats, he always feels it’s out. If it’s not against India but against all teams, then ICC has to look into it,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel, Ash ki Baat. Apart from Gill’s decision, Ashwin also talked about another decision involving an Indian batter, where there was a wide gap between the bat and ball, which the DRS showed, after Reiffel had given it out. 14 wickets fell on the fourth day of the third Test between India and England, with the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy currently deadlocked at 1-1. There were also a few contentious decisions. “I own a car, a sedan, which I can park through the gap between the bat and ball. It was not out. But this is not the first time. My father was watching the match with me. And he told me, ‘Whenever Paul Reiffel comes, India will not win.’ Even Mike Atherton and Nasser Hussain said the umpires could have acted a bit steadier with players taking time,” Ashwin added. Reiffel turned down Mohammad Siraj’s LBW appeal against England batter Joe Root. The DRS appeal showed that the ball would have hit the leg stump, but Root was handed a lifeline due to the umpire’s call. That incident became a flashpoint for the day, with Siraj throwing an angry stare at the umpire. Reiffel had also given India captain Shubman Gill out on a full-length ball from Brydon Carse, which flew to the wicket-keeper. DRS showed that the ball did not hit the Indian captain’s bat. Ashwin is not the only one to be left irked at the decisions. Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar also expressed his shock on air in commentary at the decision not being given.
