Riyan Parag, captain of Rajasthan Royals (RR), has been fined 25 per cent of his match fee and handed one demerit point after being found to have used a vape inside the dressing room during his side’s IPL 2026 match against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in New Chandigarh on Tuesday.
According to a Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) statement issued on Thursday, Parag was found guilty of breaching Article 2.21 of the IPL Code of Conduct, which pertains to conduct that brings the game into disrepute.
The incident occurred during RR’s successful chase of 222 runs, which they completed with four balls to spare.
The BCCI further confirmed that Parag admitted to the offence and accepted the sanction imposed by match referee Amit Sharma.
In a significant development, the governing body also stated that it is “exploring other options to initiate proceedings for stringent action against the erring team, its officials and player/s to ensure that the reputation of IPL remains intact.”
The breach comes less than two weeks after another disciplinary incident involving the franchise, when RR team manager Romi Bhinder was fined INR 1 lakh for using his mobile phone in the team dugout during a match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on April 10 in Guwahati.
Bhinder had informed the IPL’s Anti-Corruption Unit that the violation of Article 4.1.1 of the players’ and match officials’ area protocol was unintentional.
He accepted the charge and issued an unconditional apology. The IPL later warned him to exercise greater care in future and strictly adhere to established guidelines.
The issue came to light after images of Bhinder using his phone, with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi nearby, circulated on social media following the match. Similarly, photographs of Parag’s incident also emerged online shortly after the game against PBKS.