IPL: Young Indian spinner in trouble for on-field exploits

Dubai: Digvesh Rathi’s debut IPL season had all the makings of a fairytale — until a fiery send-off turned it into a cautionary tale. The 25-year-old Lucknow Super Giants spinner, known for his flair and aggression, has now been suspended for one match after a third breach of the IPL Code of Conduct, following a heated exchange with Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Abhishek Sharma.

Rathi, who idolises West Indian Sunil Narine and has impressed with 14 wickets in 12 matches and sits 12th in the Purple Cap standings, crossed the disciplinary line once too often — this time after dismissing Abhishek during Lucknow’s clash with SRH.

The flashpoint came when Rathi removed Abhishek early in the chase of a stiff 206-run target. The spinner unleashed his trademark “signing-off” celebration — a gesture that didn’t go down well with the SRH opener. A tense exchange followed, and while both players eventually shook hands after the game, Abhishek was seen voicing his displeasure to Lucknow assistant coach Vijay Dahiya. The matter later reached BCCI Vice-President Rajeev Shukla.

The IPL took swift action. “Digvesh Singh has been fined 50 per cent of his match fees for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct during his team’s match against Sunrisers Hyderabad,” read a statement. “This was his third Level 1 offence under Article 2.5 this season and hence, he has accumulated two demerit points, in addition to three demerit points he had accumulated earlier.”

With five demerit points in total, Rathi now faces a one-match suspension, ruling him out of Lucknow’s final league fixture against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad on May 22.

Abhishek Sharma, who went on to smash a match-winning 59 off 20 balls to set the tone for a successful chase, was also penalised. The SRH batter was fined 25 per cent of his match fees and handed one demerit point — his first offence this season.

Sunrisers eventually hunted down the 206-run target with 10 balls to spare, eliminating Lucknow from the playoff race and leaving Rathi’s season with a bittersweet ending.

While Rishabh Pant’s first season with Lucknow has been underwhelming — with just 135 runs in 12 innings after being bought for a record Rs270 million — the skipper was quick to highlight Rathi’s impact.

“It could have been one of our best seasons, but coming into the tournament, we had a lot of gaps, injuries, and as a team, we decided not to talk about that,” Pant said. “But it became difficult to fill those gaps for us.”

“Rathi has come up nicely for us. In his first season, the way he bowled was one of the positives. But you need to keep improving yourself and get better and better as the seasons go,” he added.

For Digvesh Rathi, Season 18 will be remembered as both a breakthrough and a wake-up call. His talent with the ball is unquestionable — but as the pressure of the league intensifies, temperament is just as crucial. If he can channel his aggression more wisely, Rathi has the tools to be a long-term IPL asset. For now, though, his season ends with a celebration that cost him more than just a fine.