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On the third day of the fourth Test between England and India at the Kennington Oval in London, Indian opener KL Rahul seemed unhappy after being given out ‘caught behind’.
In the 34th over of India’s second innings, England seamer James Anderson induced a faint edge from Rahul. On-field umpire Alex Wharf didn’t believe there was one and shook his head as England players appealed in unison. England skipper Joe Root then had to ask for DRS, which showed an interesting thing.
The reason umpire didn’t believe that Rahul had nicked the ball was because he heard a massive noise of bat hitting the pad. Rahul was also convinced that the sound came from the bat hitting his back pad and not the ball kissing his willow.
But, the third umpire Michael Gough gave his decision in England’s favour, and Rahul had to walk back to the pavilion for 46. The 29-year-old shook his head in protest and even gestured to the on-field umpire that his bat had struck his pads.
KL Rahul loses 15% of his match fees
However, the match referee and umpires were not kind in their consideration towards Rahul as he has been fined 15 percent of his match fee for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct.
Rahul was found to have breached Article 2.8 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to “showing dissent at an Umpire’s decision during an International Match.”
In addition to this, one demerit point has been added to the disciplinary record of Rahul – for whom it was the first offence in a 24-month period. Rahul accepted his mistake; therefore, there was no need for a formal hearing.
