Jadeja fined for applying cream on swollen index finger without permission from umpires
Nagpur (PTI): India's hero in the opening Test victory over Australia here, Ravindra Jadeja was on Saturday fined 25 per cent of his match fee for applying cream on the swollen index finger of his bowling hand without taking permission from the on-field umpires on the first day of the match.
Jadeja, who returned figures of 7/81 and contributed 70 runs in the match that India won by an innings and 132 runs, was seen in a video receiving something from pace bowler Mohammed Siraj and rubbing it on his left index finger.
The Indian all-rounder's act had the Australian media and a former player "interested", but the ICC said the cream was applied to the finger purely for medical purposes and it did not change the condition of the ball.
Jadeja action was deemed to have breached "Article 2.20 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to displaying conduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game".
"India spin bowler Ravindra Jadeja has been fined 25 per cent of his match fee for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct during the first Test against Australia in Nagpur on Thursday," the ICC said in a statement.
"In addition to this, one demerit point has been added to Jadeja's disciplinary record, for whom it was the first offence in a 24-month period."
The ICC said the incident occurred in the 46th over of Australia's first innings, when Jadeja applied "a soothing cream to a swelling on the index finger of his bowling hand without asking for permission to do so from the on-field umpires".
Jadeja admitted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by Andy Pycroft of the ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees, so there was no need for a formal hearing.
"In reaching his decision to sanction the player along with the Level 1 sanction he imposed, the Match Referee was satisfied that the cream was applied to the finger purely for medical purposes.
"The cream was not applied as an artificial substance to the ball and consequently it did not change the condition of the ball, which would have been in breach of clause 41.3 of the ICC playing conditions -- Unfair Play-The Match Ball -- Changing its Condition."
On-field umpires Nitin Menon and Richard Illingworth, third umpire Michael Gough and fourth umpire KN Ananthapadmanabhan levelled the charge.
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.
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Women BJP MLAs protest against opposition in UP assembly premises
Lucknow (PTI): Women BJP MLAs held a protest in the Vidhan Bhawan complex before the one-day special session of Uttar Pradesh assembly, slamming the opposition for defeating the passage of a bill, which would have led to implementation of the Women's Reservation Law, in the Lok Sabha.
This followed another demonstration by Samajwadi Party MLAs, who alleged that the BJP was misleading public in the name of women's reservation.
The women BJP legislators assembled in front of Chaudhary Charan Singh's statue in the assembly premises, holding banners inscribed with the slogan "Insult to Matrushakti (women's power), India will not tolerate it". The protesting members entered the main hall of Vidhan Bhawan carrying the banners.
Participating in the protest, the state Minister for Women Welfare and Child Development, Baby Rani Maurya, told reporters that all opposition parties, including the Samajwadi Party and the Congress, had opposed the women's reservation, a stance for which they would have to pay a heavy political price.
"On this issue, all of us women stand united. We will ensure that we secure our reservation," she said.
BJP MLA Ketki Singh remarked that their protest represents the collective outrage of millions of women across the state.
Singh asserted that the opposition has betrayed women by creating hurdles in the path of women's reservation. The current demonstration is merely the beginning, and very soon, women from every street, intersection and household will join the protest movement, she said.
Minister Vijaylakshmi Gautam said, "We strongly condemn the despicable act committed by the Samajwadi Party and the Congress in an attempt to hold back 'half the population' (women). Their action was directed against the very bill that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had introduced to empower and strengthen Nari Shakti (women's power), and which he strived to pass expeditiously."
Uttar Pradesh assembly is holding a one-day special session on Thursday. During the session, the government is set to move a censure motion against the opposition parties over their failure to pass the Constitution Amendment Bill, which would have led to implementation of the Women's Reservation Act, in the Lok Sabha.
