KOLKATA: During the Test match between India and South Africa at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, Jasprit Bumrah landed in trouble after making an inappropriate remark about the South African captain.
After South African skipper Temba Bavuma was given out LBW and the discussion turned to a possible review, Bumrah referred to Bavuma as a “dwarf.”
According to the renowned cricket website Wisden, this comment has placed Bumrah at risk of violating the ICC Code of Conduct.
The incident falls under Article 2.13, which deals with the use of personal, insulting, indecent, or inappropriate language directed at any player, official, or referee.
If found guilty, Bumrah could face severe penalties. Under a Level 2 offence, a player may be fined 50 to 100 percent of their match fee and can also be suspended for up to two matches.
However, the final decision rests with the match referee.
If the officials accept that Bumrah’s remark was made in reference to the bounce of the ball rather than as a personal insult about Bavuma’s height, he may be granted some relief.
It is worth mentioning that an incident of inappropriate remarks had occurred in a match between Pakistan and South Africa some five years ago and the ICC had suspended Sarfaraz Ahmed for four matches. Sarfaraz Comments about Phehlukwyao were taken as a racial attack and the Pakistan’s then captain was punished. But if you take a look at the words said by Bumrah, the case seems more intense .
It remains to be seen how ICC is going to tackle the matter when an Indian cricketer is guilty.
It is worth mentioning that this is not the first time when an Indian cricketer has made a verbal abuse about a player of another team.
Harbbhajan Singh and Sri Sreesanth were the other two players who had attacked Andrew Symonds in India-Australia matches in the past.
