Rishabh Pant Suspended for Slow Over-Rate, to Miss RCB Match

Delhi Capitals’ (DC) skipper Rishabh Pant has been handed a one-match suspension for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct during the match against Rajasthan Royals on May 7. Consequently, he will be absent for a crucial fixture against Royal Challengers Bangalore at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday.

In addition to the suspension, Pant has been fined INR 30 lakh, while other members of the DC playing XI. Including Impact-Player, have also incurred fines either amounting to INR 12lakh or 50% of their match fees, whichever is lesser. This marks Pant’s third over-rate breach in this IPL season.

A BCCI release stated that DC filed an appeal disputing the match referee’s ruling under Article 8 of the IPL Code of Conduct. The appeal was referred to the BCCI ombudsman for review. Who conducted a virtual hearing and upheld the match referee’s decision. DC’s director of cricket Sourav Ganguly, head coach Ricky Ponting, and CEO Sunil Gupta represented the team during the hearing.

In their appeal, DC cited several reasons for the delay, including the high number of sixes hit by RR batters and the contentious dismissal of Sanju Samson, which consumed additional time. However, the lack of statistical information detailing the exact time consumed by these events led to the dismissal of their appeal.

Each IPL team is allotted 85 minutes (4.25 minutes per over) to complete their 20 overs. During the match against RR, DC exceeded this timeframe, taking 117.82 minutes to complete their innings.

Currently positioned fifth on the table with 12 points and a net run rate of -0.316. DC faces a challenging road to playoffs qualification. They must secure victories in their remaining matches and rely on favorable results from other teams to remain in contention.