Ravindra Jadeja had a memorable day on Day 1 of the first Test match between India and Australia at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur on Thursday, February 9th. The all-rounder shone with a fantastic five-wicket haul that helped dismiss the Australian team for 177 after they chose to bat first. Despite his impressive performance, Jadeja’s day was overshadowed by viral images on social media that showed him applying a substance to his hand.
Suddenly, the match referee Andy Pycroft entered into action after allegations of ball tampering against Ravindra Jadeja and took a big step. He is the match referee for the first Test match being played between India and Australia in Nagpur. Pycroft made a reprimand to the Indian team captain Rohit Sharma and the manager of the Indian cricket team after allegations of ball tampering against Ravindra Jadeja.
The management of Team India has informed the ICC match referee, Andy Pycroft, that the video clips that went viral on social media after the first day of the Nagpur Test showed Ravindra Jadeja using a pain-relief cream on his index finger of his bowling hand.
The video footage showed Ravindra Jadeja taking a substance from the back of Mohammed Siraj’s palm with his right hand, and then rubbing it onto the index finger of his left hand, which is his bowling arm, just before starting to bowl a delivery.
It is important to note that the footage does not show Jadeja applying anything to the ball itself, even though he was holding the ball at the time. The ICC prohibits the use of any substances, including saliva, to polish the ball.
The incident occurred when Australia was at 120/5 and Ravindra Jadeja had already taken the wickets of Marnus Labuschagne, Matt Renshaw, and Steven Smith. As reported by ESPNcricinfo, after the conclusion of play on the first day, a video clip of Jadeja’s actions was presented to him, along with India’s captain Rohit Sharma and the team manager. The ICC match referee, Andy Pycroft, simply informed them of the incident and no formal charges have been filed against Jadeja.
According to the established rules and regulations, the bowler is required to seek the approval of the umpire before applying any substances to their hands to preserve the integrity of the ball. The match referee has the authority to investigate such incidents without being prompted by a formal complaint from the opposing team. In this case, the Australian team did not raise the issue with the match referee.