India hosted New Zealand for a three-match ODI series, the first of which was played at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. India won the game by a close margin as the Men in Blue avoided a scare. Shubman Gill starred for India with his double century. Meanwhile, the third umpire raised eyebrows with his controversial decision against Hardik Pandya.
The TV umpire wrongfully adjudged Pandya bowled out despite replays suggesting otherwise. It was quite evident that the bails had fallen off due to the New Zealand wicketkeeper’s gloves and not because of the ball touching them. Nevertheless, the game went on with no one making any fuss about the dismissal. But Ishan Kishan had some other plans.
The Indian wicketkeeper tried to prank the umpires as well as Tom Latham when New Zealand came to bat in the second innings. In the 16th over of the NZ innings, Tom Latham went deep into the crease on one of the deliveries. India, meanwhile, appealed for a hit-wicket dismissal as the bails had fallen off. But leg umpire Nitin Menon already had an idea about what had happened. The replays then confirmed that it was Kishan who dislodged the bails.
While everything was brushed under the carpet in the name of a joke at that moment, it has been revealed now that Kishan could have landed in massive trouble for his mischief. According to a story in stuff.co.nz on Monday, Kishan could have been charged with a Level 3 offence of trying to acquire an unfair advantage under the ICC's Code of Conduct, which results in a suspension of four to twelve ODIs or Twenty20 internationals.
The report says Kishan was spoken to about the incident following the game by match referee Javagal Srinath, who also talked to Indian captain Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid.
"However, it's understood Srinath took no further action -- likely because neither umpire Anil Chaudhary nor Nitin Menon appears to have officially reported Kishan over the incident. Srinath also spoke to stand-in Black Caps head coach Luke Ronchi and team management, with the touring side happy not to further pursue the matter," added the report.
Notably, In the ICC's Code of Conduct, Article 2.15 Attempting to gain an unfair advantage during an International Match' includes "deliberate attempts to deceive an Umpire". It also adds: "When assessing the seriousness of the breach, consideration should be given to whether the conduct was deliberate, reckless and/or negligent on the part of the relevant player."
