Digvesh Rathi Suspended, Abhishek Sharma Fined amid On-Field Altercation During IPL Clash

Pratiksha Ghosh 

Lucknow, May 20 2025:The Indian Premier League (IPL) has taken disciplinary action against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) pacer Digvesh Singh Rathi and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) all-rounder Abhishek Sharma following a heated exchange between the two during their recent encounter at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium on Monday.

As per the IPL’s official media advisory, Digvesh Rathi has been suspended for LSG’s upcoming fixture against Gujarat Titans on May 22 in Ahmedabad. This comes after the fast bowler committed his third Level 1 offence under Article 2.5 of the IPL Code of Conduct this season. The latest breach earned him two Demerit Points, taking his tally to five for the season—crossing the threshold for a one-match suspension. Rathi was previously penalized for incidents during matches against Punjab Kings on April 1 (one point) and Mumbai Indians on April 4 (two points).

In addition to the suspension, Rathi has also been fined 50 percent of his match fee for his conduct against SRH. The altercation followed his aggressive “notebook” celebration after dismissing Abhishek Sharma, which sparked a verbal spat between the two players.

Meanwhile, SRH's member Abhishek Sharma was fined 25 percent of his match fee for his involvement in the confrontation. The left-hander was found guilty of a Level 1 offence under Article 2.6 of the Code of Conduct and received one Demerit Point—his first this season.

Despite the controversy, Abhishek continued his fine run with the bat this season, scoring 373 runs in 11 innings at a strike rate of 192.26, including a century and two fifties. His 59-run blitz in just 20 deliveries was crucial in setting up SRH’s chase.

Rathi, who has taken 14 wickets in 12 matches this season at an average of 28.07 and an economy of 8.18, was visibly frustrated as SRH powered past LSG, eliminating them from the playoff race.

SRH, led by explosive batting performances from Abhishek Sharma and Heinrich Klaasen, chased down LSG’s 205-run total with ease, winning by four wickets and 10 balls to spare. With this result, SRH moved to eighth place with four wins, seven losses and one no result (nine points). LSG dropped to seventh, finishing their campaign with five wins and ten points.