Yashasvi Jaiswal, the Indian opening batter, was involved in an ugly incident on the opening day of the second Test against Sri Lanka. The heat of the moment got to the batter as he charged towards Sri Lankan pacer Asitha Fernando and almost came to blows with him after being dismissed. India’s batting coach, Sitanshu Kotak, admitted that Jaiswal was wrong in getting “so close” to the speedster.
The incident happened in the morning session on Day 1 of the second Test in Colombo on Sunday. Jaiswal was on top of his game, hitting Fernando for three boundaries. However, the pacer had the final laugh as he got the ball to jag back in, rattling the stumps of Jaiswal.
The left-handed batter was making his way back to the pavilion; however, he made his way back towards the Sri Lankan camp after someone from the hosts gave him a send-off. Jaiswal immediately approached Fernando and almost helmet-butted the speedster. The rest of the Sri Lankan players quickly separated the two, and Jaiswal eventually walked back.
On Sunday, when Kotak was asked about the same, the India coach said that things can happen in the heat of the moment, but Jaiswal shouldn’t have gone so close to the opposition player.
“I think the bowler must have commented on something, and it happened in the heat of the moment. I don’t think Jaiswal should have gone that close, but it can happen in the heat of the moment,” Kotak told reporters on Sunday.
On the other hand, Sri Lanka’s fast bowling coach Ryan van Niekerk echoed the sentiment, saying such incidents can happen on the field because emotions can get the better of players.
“From my point of view, I’ve really asked the bowlers to stand up and create something. The verbals are probably an overflow of emotion. I’ll leave that to the match referee to deal with,” he said.
Will Jaiswal be banned?
Physical contact in cricket is a no-go, and hence Jaiswal now risks being banned for a few games. It remains to be seen what action the match referee, Andy Pycroft, takes. The left-handed batter is no stranger to controversies. Infamously, the batter was sent off the field by his own captain, Ajinkya Rahane, during a domestic game after he was constantly chirping the opposition batter, Ravi Teja.
Speaking of the second Test, Jaiswal managed 45 runs before being dismissed. India ended Day 1 at 300/5 with Saransh Jain and Dhruv Jurel in the middle. Devdutt Padikkal was the top performer with a knock of 117.
