'MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli were not banned...': Virender Sehwag defends controversial LSG star with massive statement

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) spinner Digvesh Rathi has had a stellar debut IPL campaign as he picked up 14 wickets and has also maintained a decent economy rate of 8.30. However, despite being his side's top wicket-taker for the season, his bowling performances have gotten overshadowed due to his on-field actions.

Digvesh Rathi has come under scrutiny multiple times for his on-field antics

Rathi has been criticized on multiple occasions for his 'notebook' celebration and has even received warnings because of it. The 25-year-old also got into a heated argument with Sunrisers Hyderabad batter Abhishek Sharma, who called the spinner out for his send-off. Following this, Rathi was even handed a one-match ban by the BCCI.

However, former India cricketer Virender Sehwag believes that the ban was 'harsh' and pointed out that the likes of MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli didn't get banned for their on-field antics in IPL.

"I thought that the ban was a bit harsh. The boy is playing in his first year in the IPL. MS Dhoni had barged into the ground, he was not banned then. Virat Kohli has spoken to umpires in that tone, who knows how many times, he was also not banned. So, Digvesh Rathi could have been spared, because he is a young player, just coming into the scene, could have let that one go," Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.

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Rathi was once again in the headlines as he appealed after running out Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) skipper Jitesh Sharma on the non-striker's end. The incident took place on Tuesday during the final match of the ongoing IPL season's league stage between LSG and RCB at the Ekana Cricket stadium. Rathi's appeal eventually got withdrawn by Lucknow-based franchise skipper Rishabh Pant.

Jitesh would later go on to hurt the LSG bowling attack badly as he played a fantastic unbeaten knock of 85 runs from 33 deliveries and carried his side to an emphatic six-wicket victory.

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The win saw the Bengaluru-based franchise finish on the second place on the IPL standings, accumulating 19 points from 14 matches and only falling behind table-toppers Punjab Kings due to an inferior net run-rate. On the other hand, LSG finished their campaign on the seventh position with 12 points, having managed to win just six matches throughout the season.