Soon after helping Kolkata Knight Riders win their opening Indian Premier League 2024 game against Sunrisers Hyderabad, seamer Harshit Rana has been fined 60 percent of his match fees for breaching the IPL code of conduct. A charged-up Rana had celebrated Mayank Agarwal's dismissal by going close to him and blowing a flying kiss during Hyderabad's chase at Eden Gardens on Saturday, March 23. (Full Coverage | More Cricket News)
Rana was fined 10 percent and 50 percent of his match fees for committing two Level 1 offences under Article 2.5 of the IPL's code of conduct. The 22-year-old admitted to both the offences and accepted match referee Manu Nayar’s sanction. For Level 1 breaches of the code of conduct, the match referee's decision is final and binding.
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Earlier, the pacer used his slower balls to great effect as he denied a rampaging Heinrich Klaasen his victory push. Rana bowled the final over of the match and had 13 runs to defend. Klaasen made his intentions clear with the first ball, smashing Rana over fine leg for a six.
But the youngster bounced back superbly, first dislodging Shahbaz Ahmed and then Klaasen. SRH needed five runs off the last ball and their skipper Pat Cummins was on strike. Rana again bowled a slower ball to fox Cummins and eke out a thrilling four-run victory for the hosts.
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However, the offence for which Rana was fined came in the 6th over of the innings. After SRH opener Agarwal clubbed him for a few boundaries, the Delhi lad had the last laugh, having the batter caught at deep backward square leg to pick up the first wicket. Rana went right up to the departing Agarwal, offered a stare and blew a flying kiss.
The act left India legend Sunil Gavaskar unimpressed. "Couldn't see any of that earlier on when he was hitting you for boundaries. No need to do that Mr. Rana. It's just a wicket in cricket. The batter didn't do that to him when he was hitting boundaries," Gavaskar said on air while commentating in the match.
"I know we are all in the television age. We need to be seen doing certain things. You can play cricket without doing that. By all means, celebrate. Celebrate with the team. But, there's no need to do that to an opposition player," Gavaskar added.
