Indian pacer Mohammed Sham offered his thoughts on the recent one-match suspension that Delhi Capitals (DC) captain Rishabh Pant received during the current IPL 2024 season. With Delhi’s third over-rate offence of the season, Pant was punished and became the first skipper to be banned in the 17th season.

Shami, however, felt that this was inappropriate. “In my opinion, the team was given a serious blow at this point with the suspension of the captain. We have frequently witnessed games lagging towards the end. While I acknowledge that DC was punished for their slow over rate, it is shocking that the captain would miss a game.”

“Given that this is the tournament’s critical stage, the match referee gave DC a severe shock which shouldn’t have happened. While regulations are being discussed, in my opinion, this was unfair,” Shami continued.

Interim captain Axar Patel said that Pant was not pleased with Pant’s one-match ban. Rishabh missed the game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

Shami’s remarks could cause controversy among supporters and analysts because some may feel that a one-match suspension is too harsh and instead advocate a more simple strategy that takes into account the causes of the slow over rate. Some argue that tougher punishment is necessary to guarantee a fast game flow.

“Mr. Rishabh Pant, Captain of the Delhi Capitals, has been fined and suspended for one match for violating the IPL Code of Conduct after his team maintained a slow over-rate in the match against Rajasthan Royals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on May 07, 2024,” the statement read.

“In accordance with the IPL’s Code of Conduct regarding over-rate violations, Delhi Capitals captain Rishabh Pant was fined INR 30 Lakhs and suspended for one match since it was his team’s third offence of the season. The Impact Player and the other members of the Playing XI will be fined a separate fine of INR 12 Lac or 50% of their respective match fees, whichever was lower.”

The Delhi Capitals filed an appeal against the Match Referee’s decision in accordance with Article 8 of the IPL Code of Conduct. The appeal was then forwarded to the BCCI Ombudsman for assessment. After holding a virtual hearing, the Ombudsman declared that the Match Referee’s ruling was final and binding.

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