The Indian team-management has responded to the controversy surrounding Ravindra Jadeja after the cameras caught him applying something on his finger on day one of the ongoing first Test against Australia at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur.
Ravindra Jadeja was the star of the day as he ran riot with the ball. Playing his first international game since injuring his knee in August last year, the left-arm spinner blew Australia away with a five-wicket haul on his comeback.
He first broke the dangerous 82-run stand between Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith by dismissing the former. The star spinner then went on to dismiss Matt Renshaw, Smith, Peter Handscomb and Todd Murphy to complete yet another 5-wicket haul in Tests.
But as soon as the day came to an end, Ravindra Jadeja found him in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. A video of him applying something on his finger before bowling his 16th over of the day went viral on the social media.
In the footage, he was seen taking a substance off the back of fast-bowler Mohammed Siraj’s palm with his right hand. The 34-year old was then seen appearing the substance on to the index finger of his left hand – his bowling arm. While he did not rub the substance on the ball, it was in his hands while he was applying the substance on his finger.
Indian team-management reacts to Ravindra Jadeja controversy:
Following the controversy, the Indian team-management told ICC match referee Andy Pycroft that Ravindra Jadeja was applying pain-relief cream to the index finger of his bowling hand as they denied any wrongdoings.
As per a report in the ESPNcricnfo, Ravindra Jadeja, skipper Rohit Sharma and the team-manager were shown the clip as soon as the day’s action came to an end. The report added that Pycroft just wanted to inform the Indian team about the footage and no charge has been laid against the spinner.
The report also added that the Australian team did not bring the matter to the attention of the match referee. The laws of the game, however, permit the match referee to independently probe such incidents without needing a complaint to be lodged.
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