Indian team management tells match-referee Ravindra Jadeja used pain-relief cream on finger

Nagpur (Maharashtra) [India], February 10 (ANI): The Indian team management has informed ICC match referee Andy Pycroft that star spinner Ravindra Jadeja was using pain-relieving cream on the finger of his bowling hand in the video recordings that were widely shared on social media on the first day of the Nagpur Test against Australia, as ESPNcricinfo reported.

After visuals of spinner Jadeja was seen taking a substance off the back of Mohammed Siraj’s palm and rubbing it on his bowling finger which went viral on social media after day one of the first Test between India and Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. At the time of the incident, Jadeja had already dismissed Steven Smith, Matt Renshaw, and Marnus Labuschagne and Australia was 120 for 5.

Although the event generated discussion on social media and in the news, it has been discovered that the Australian team did not bring the issue to the match referee’s attention. The match referee may independently investigate such incidents depending on the circumstances without requiring a complaint to be made. In addition, to guarantee that the condition of the ball is not impacted, the bowler is required by the Laws of Cricket to obtain the umpire’s approval before applying any kind of material on their hands.

Jadeja made a brilliant comeback picking up five wickets against Australia in the first innings of the first Test match being played at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur but the left-arm spinner’s comeback was marred by controversy after allegations of ball tampering against him.

Jadeja’s superlative performance of 5/47 helped India bowl out Australia for a paltry 177. Ravichandran Ashwin too scalped three wickets while Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami took one wicket each. In reply, Indian batters scored 77/1 going into stumps on Day-1, trailing Australia by 100 runs with nine wickets in hand.