Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar has criticised the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) after India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal received a light punishment for his confrontation with Sri Lanka fast bowler Asitha Fernando during the second Test in Colombo.The incident happened on the first day after Fernando dismissed Jaiswal. The India opener had hit three boundaries in the over before Fernando bowled him with a delivery that beat his defence.As Jaiswal started walking back to the pavilion, he turned around and walked towards Fernando. The two players came face to face, with Jaiswal’s helmet touching Fernando’s forehead, before teammates stepped in to separate them.The ICC later fined both players 25 percent of their match fee and handed them one demerit point each.Manjrekar said the punishment was not enough and warned that repeated incidents could become a habit if players are not dealt with firmly.“Dear ICC and BCCI, Vaibhav for India A recently & now Jaiswal… if you keep letting them get away with such behaviour, you train them to repeat such behaviour. It’s not good for the sport & crucially their own future too,” Manjrekar posted on X.
The ICC also released a statement explaining the action taken against both players.“Both players were found to have breached Article 2.12 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to “inappropriate physical contact with a Player, Player Support Personnel, Umpire, Match Referee or any other person (including a spectator during an International Match).” As a result, Jaiswal and Fernando were fined 25 per cent of their match fee and were handed one demerit point each,” said the ICC in its statement.The ICC added that neither Jaiswal nor Fernando had committed any previous offence in the last 24 months.Manjrekar also referred to an earlier incident involving 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.During the India A tri-series in Dambulla, Sooryavanshi got into an argument with Sri Lanka A players after India A lost in the Super Over. Following celebrations by the Sri Lankan team, Sooryavanshi confronted the players, exchanged words and pushed one of them before teammates intervened.Sooryavanshi was fined 50 percent of his match fee for that incident.
