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India’s Ravindra Jadeja has been REMOVED for any wrongdoing after footage showed the five-wicket star applying ‘pain-relieving cream’ to his spinner finger against Australia.
- Ravindra Jadeja was seen applying something to her finger
- Michael Vaughan has asked for answers after seeing the images.
- Former Australian captain Michael Clarke defended Jadeja for using the cream
A questionable moment involving Indian star Ravindra Jadeja has sparked a debate on social media, with former Australia and England stars Tim Paine, Michael Clarke and Michael Vaughan chiming in on the line.
However, the Indian spinner was given a nod by the ICC for using a cream on his finger that the Indian side claimed was for pain relief.
During his five-wicket tear on the first day in Nagpur, the spin bowler was seen approaching a teammate and appeared to grab something from one of his teammates’ hand.
He then rubbed his hands together and rotated his finger near and around the ball, though what exactly happened is unclear.
Footage of the moment that occurred while Alex Carey and Peter Handscomb were in the fold was shared widely on social media, with Paine responding by tweeting: “Interesting.”
Ashes winning captain Vaughan also demanded answers from cricket officials after reviewing the footage.
Clarke was sacked as a commentator for the India tour, but said Jadeja did nothing wrong on Australian radio.
However, Clarke, who famously scored a century on his Indian debut but was dropped from the commentary team due to his wild confrontation with girlfriend Jade Yarbrough and TV personality Karl Stefanovic defended the Indian player.
“He bowls so much that he probably has a blister or a cut on that finger.” Clarke said on the radio.
‘What he should have done there, he should have given the ball to the ref and stood in front of the ref while putting it on his finger.
‘I don’t look at that and I think it’s one thing.
‘I wish I didn’t have the ball in my hand. If he throws the ball to the ref and he does, I don’t think there will be any comment on that. It’s just perception.
‘I don’t think there’s any of that. I could be 100 percent wrong.
Jadeja finished with figures of 5-42 with the tourists out for 177. India went 1-77 in response
ICC match referee Andy Pycroft was told by Indian team management that Ravindra Jadeja was applying a pain-relieving cream to the index finger of his bowling hand. No charges have been filed.
“While the incident sparked debate on social media and in the mainstream media, it transpired that Team Australia had not brought the matter to the attention of the match referee,” an ICC report on the incident said.
‘According to the conditions of the game, the match referee can independently investigate such incidents without the need to file a complaint. And as per the Laws of Cricket, the bowler needs the permission of the umpire to apply any kind of substance on his hands to ensure that the condition of the ball is not affected.
Ravindra Jadeja has been caught up in a row of cheats during India’s match with Australia
The spinner was seen applying a questionable substance to his finger while taking five wickets.
He then took a five-wicket haul as India bowled out Australia for 177 on the first day.
‘What is he putting on his spinning finger? She had never seen this…’, he tweeted her.
Jadeja finished the innings with figures of 5-42 with the tourists knocked out for 177. India finished the first day with a total of 1-77.
After electing to bat first off a pitch at the VCA Stadium, Pat Cummins’s side were bowled out for 177 in 64 overs, before India ran to 1-76 on stumps.
India captain Rohit Sharma (56 no.) hit Cummins for 13 runs in the first over in a sinister start to the home team innings.
Cummins and Scott Boland, in his first Test outside Australia, are the only quickies for the visitors, as the selectors opted to choose rookie Todd Murphy (1-13) to partner veteran star Nathan Lyon.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan asked for answers after reviewing the footage.
The young Victorian Murphy, who is Australia’s 465th Test player, claimed his first international wicket just before stumps, holding on to a catch from his own bowling to dismiss KL Rahul (20).
Spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (0 no) was sent as a night watchman, surviving the last.
Australia’s vulnerabilities in front of the spinning ball were greatly exposed as they lost eight wickets to spin, with all-round star Ravi Jadeja taking 5-42.