Former Indian pacer Venkatesh Prasad has shared his views on the Yashasvi Jaiswal – Asitha Fernando episode, which hogged the spotlight on Day 1 of the second Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo.
Speaking on Sony Sports Network, Prasad asserted that Jaiswal went overboard with his actions. While acknowledging that the Lankan pacer might have said something, Prasad reckoned that Jaiswal shouldn’t have made body contact.
“The referee will definitely look into it. I feel Yashasvi Jaiswal took it too far. He should have just walked. It happens sometimes when you are playing well and get out to a good ball,” Prasad said on Sony Sports Network.
“Also, Jaiswal needed a big innings. Having said that, they might have exchanged a couple of words when he got bowled, but as Jadeja said, he shouldn’t have made it physical, and it looks like Jaiswal took that incident way too far,” he added.
Delving into the details of the incident, Jaiswal was batting well on 45 when Fernando dismissed him in the 17th over of the first innings. Fernando gave Jaiswal an animated send-off and appeared to exchange words with the batter. After initially walking away, Jaiswal later turned back towards the pacer and made physical contact with him.
Under clause 2.12 of the ICC Code of Conduct, “inappropriate physical contact with a player, player support personnel, umpire, match referee or any other person during an international match” can attract a Level 1 or Level 2 offence when the contact involves players or player support personnel.
Any action against Jaiswal or Fernando would most likely fall under Level 1 or Level 2, indicating an official warning or a fine of up to 50% of a player’s match fee.
