IPL 2025: Lucknow Super Giants player faces suspension and fine

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) spinner Digvesh Rathi has been suspended for one match and fined 50 percent of his match fee following a Code of Conduct breach during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Monday in Lucknow.

The incident occurred in the eighth over of SRH’s innings when Rathi dismissed opener Abhishek Sharma.

After the wicket, Rathi gave Sharma a provocative send-off by mimicking an entry in an imaginary ‘notebook’ — a celebration he has used previously — which led to a verbal exchange between the two players. 

This marks Rathi’s third Level 1 offence under Article 2.5 of the IPL Code of Conduct this season. He received two additional demerit points for this incident, bringing his total to five.

As per IPL rules, accumulating four or more demerit points triggers a one-match suspension. Consequently, Rathi will miss LSG’s upcoming match against Gujarat Titans on May 22 in Ahmedabad.

Rathi had previously received one demerit point on April 1 for his celebration against Punjab Kings’ Priyansh Arya and two more on April 4 for a similar gesture directed at Mumbai Indians’ Naman Dhir.

Match officials had warned Rathi after his first offence, but he reportedly misunderstood the reason for the penalty, believing it was for charging towards the batter and not the send-off itself.

The SRH opener Sharma was also penalised for his part in the altercation. He has been fined 25 percent of his match fee and handed his first demerit point of the season.

Rathi’s absence is a significant blow for LSG. He has been their top-performing bowler this season with 14 wickets. He is expected to return for LSG’s final league match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on May 27.