The International Cricket Council (ICC) has handed India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sri Lanka pacer Asitha Fernando 25 per cent match fee fine and one demerit point each for their physical altercation on Day 1 of the second Test at Sinhalese Cricket Club, Colombo.
"Both players were found to have breached Article 2.12 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to “inappropriate physical contact with a Player, Player Support Personnel, Umpire, Match Referee or any other person (including a spectator during an International Match),” the ICC said in a statement.
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On the last ball of the 17th over, Fernando dismissed Jaiswal and gave him a send-off. Fernando said something while Jaiswal was walking off the field which led to him returning to have a confrontation. The opener headbutted the pacer before Sri Lanak captain Dhananjaya de Silva doused the flames.
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There was no need for a formal hearing as both players had accepted match referee Andy Pycroft's sanctions.
Ahead of Day 2 of second Test, Jaiswal also broke his silence on the incident while replying to a video posted by renowned commentator Harsha Bhogle.
"If you don't know what he said then please don't make your judgement. If anyone cross [sic] the line we need to let them know this India will fight and reply," Jaiswal commented.
The India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak and Sri Lanka fast-bowling coach Ryan van Niekerk had reacted to the incident as well. In the post-day press conferences, they felt that it happened in the heat of the moment. Kotak expressed that Jaiswal shouldn’t have gotten close to the pacer. Meanwhile, Van Niekerk left the matter to the match referee. He termed the confrontation a result of hard Test cricket.