Alongside his impressive bowling and signature “notebook” celebration, the Indian leg-spinner has found himself in the headlines for the wrong reasons—violating the code of conduct three times in a single tournament.
Digvesh Rathi has caught attention in this year’s IPL not just for his standout performances, but also for his controversial behavior. Once again, he showed both sides of his personality. Despite taking two wickets in the match, the Lucknow Super Giants leg-spinner has now been suspended for breaching the code of conduct.
During Monday’s clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rathi got into a heated exchange with Abhishek Sharma. This marks the third time this season that the 25-year-old has breached IPL’s code of conduct. As a result, he has been suspended for one match and fined 50% of his match fee.
The incident took place during the eighth over of Sunrisers’ chase in Lucknow. Abhishek had hammered 59 off just 20 balls, hitting six sixes and four fours, before getting out trying to clear the boundary again. As he walked off, Rathi animatedly gestured at him while running, seemingly mocking the batter. Then came his trademark “notebook” celebration, where he mimics writing something down or giving an autograph.
Rathi has been punished earlier this season for excessive celebrations. This time, the situation escalated into a face-off between him and Abhishek. The two exchanged words until umpire Michael Gough intervened to calm things down.
With this incident, Rathi’s total number of demerit points has reached five. According to IPL rules, accumulating four demerit points results in an automatic one-match suspension. He had already picked up three in previous incidents, and this latest episode added two more.
Despite Lucknow’s bowlers struggling throughout the season, Rathi has been a rare bright spot, taking a team-high 14 wickets. Before this IPL, he was a relatively unknown figure in Indian cricket, having played only two Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy matches. However, he impressed during the last Delhi Premier League with 14 wickets in 10 matches. His run-up resembles Sunil Narine’s, with a hidden-arm delivery style that caught Lucknow’s eye. They picked him up for ₹30 lakh at the auction. In his debut IPL season, he’s made headlines both for his bowling brilliance and disciplinary issues.
With the loss against Sunrisers, Lucknow is now out of the playoff race, although two matches still remain. Rathi will miss one of those due to the ban.
Demerit points stay active for up to 36 months, meaning Rathi must tread carefully in future seasons. If he reaches eight points, he’ll face a two-match ban; 11 points would result in a three-match suspension.
Abhishek Sharma was also penalized for the on-field clash—he was fined 25% of his match fee.
Despite the heated exchange during the match, things seemed much more relaxed afterward. The two players were seen shaking hands and sharing smiles, jokes, and laughter post-match.
