/ 14 February 2018

Rabada in hot water for ‘aggressive’ send-off

If Rabada
If Rabada

Proteas fast bowler Kagiso Rabada is in hot water for the send-off he gave Indian batsman Shikhar Dhawan in Tuesday’s fifth one-day international (ODI) in Port Elizabeth.

Rabada has been fined 15% of his match fee and received one demerit point after being found guilty of a Level 1 breach of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel.

Rabada now has five demerit points on his disciplinary record after receiving three demerit points against Sri Lanka in an ODI on February 8 2017 and one demerit point during the Lord’s Test against England on July 7 2017.

Rabada was subsequently suspended from the Trent Bridge Test against England after his accumulated demerit points reached four following the Lord’s breach.

If Rabada reaches the next threshold of eight or more demerit points within a 24-month period, he will be suspended again from either two Tests; one Test and two ODIs/T20Is; or four ODIs/T20Is, whichever comes first for the player.

Tuesday’s incident happened in the eighth over of India’s innings when Rabada, after dismissing Dhawan, waved at the departing batsman and also made a comment which could have resulted in a reaction from the batsman.

As such, he was charged by the on-field umpires Ian Gould and Shaun George, third umpire Aleem Dar and fourth umpire Bongani Jele under article 2.1.7, which relates to “using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batsman upon his/her dismissal during an international match” .

After the match, Rabada admitted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by Andy Pycroft of the elite panel of ICC match referees and, as such, there was no need for a formal hearing. — Sport24