IND vs ENG Test: Bumrah handed demerit point for breaching code of conduct

The indecent occurred during the 81st over of England's second innings as Bumrah deliberately stood in the way of English batter Ollie Pope while he was completing a single

Jasprit Bumrah, India's premier fast bowler, was handed a demerit point by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday, January 29, for breaching the ICC’s Code of Conduct during the first Test against England in Hyderabad.

The incident occurred during the 81st over of England's second innings as Bumrah deliberately stood in the way of English batter Ollie Pope while he was completing a single, said the ICC in a statement. This was treated as a Level 1 breach and, therefore, Bumrah was handed only one demerit point.

According to Article 2.12 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, ‘inappropriate physical contact with a Player, Player Support Personnel, Umpire, Match Referee or any other person (including a spectator) during an International Match’ is termed a breach of the Code of Conduct.

Since this was the first breach for Bumrah in 24 months, he would now have to be mindful of any such breaches in the next 24 months as when a player reaches four or more demerit points within 24 months, they are converted into suspension points and a player could be banned.

Two suspension points equate to a ban from one Test or two One-Day Internationals (ODIs) or two Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is), whichever comes first for the player.

According to the ICC, the Indian player did not appeal against the demerit point. He admitted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by Match Referee Richie Richardson of the West Indies.

Bumrah received the minimum penalty as he was only given an official reprimand. According to the ICC, Level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand, a maximum penalty of 50 per cent of a player’s match fee, and one or two demerit points.

The Rabada-Smith Case of Code of Conduct Breach 

South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada was in 2018 charged with a level-2 offence for inappropriate contact with a player from the opposition team. He was given three demerit points for breaching ICC’s Code of Conduct. However, he did not admit to the offence and a 6-hour marathon hearing resulted in not only the charge being melted down from level-2 to a level-1 offence, but his demerit points were also reduced from three to 1. 

Initially, because of three demerit points, Rabada breached the 8 demerit points mark, which meant suspension for the next two Tests. However, because the demerit points remained below seven after they were reduced to one, he went below the eight-point mark and played in the remaining two Tests and picked a total of eight wickets in them.