Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) leg spinner Digvesh Rathi's unusual 'letter-writing' send-off to Punjab Kings (PBKS) batter Priyansh Arya has got him in huge trouble. Rathi picked up the wicket of his Delhi teammate Arya and did this Kesrick Williams celebration, which did not go too well with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) management, as it penalized Rathi for "breaching the IPL Code of Conduct" during the LSG vs PBKS fixture at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow on Tuesday.
"Digvesh Singh admitted to the Level 1 offense under Article 2.5 and accepted the Match Referee's sanction," an IPL media advisory stated.
"For Level 1 breaches of the Code of Conduct, the Match Referee's decision is final and binding." The controversial celebration took place on the penultimate ball of the third over during PBKS' chase of 172.
Digvesh bowled a short and wide delivery, which Arya wanted to pull. However, all the PBKS batter could do was miscue the ball to Shardul Thakur at mid-on.
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As the PBKS opener walked back to the pavilion after scoring eight runs off nine balls, Digvesh mimicked writing a letter — an act seemingly directed at his Delhi teammate.
Umpires unimpressed with Digvesh Rathi's 'letter writing' celebration
The umpires were unimpressed by Digvesh Rathi's over-the-top celebration and spoke with the bowler. The 'letter writing' send-off drew instant comparisons to West Indian fast bowler Kesrick Williams, who popularized the 'notebook' celebration after dismissing his opponents, including his famous send-off to legendary batter Virat Kohli during a 2019 bilateral series.
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Not only the umpires but also the commentators Sunil Gavaskar and Mohammed Kaif did not like Rathi's 'letter writing' send-off to Priyansh Arya. For the unversed, the leg spinner had a good outing with the ball in hand as he finished his four-over spell by picking up 2/30. However, the rest of the LSG bowlers came as a copper, as PBKS easily chased the target of 173 runs in just 16.2 overs. Skipper Shreyas Iyer remained unbeaten on 52 runs and was well supported by Prabhsimran Singh's 69 runs and Nehal Wadhera's knock of 43 runs as PBKS registered their second win on the bounce.
