Yashasvi Jaiswal and Asitha Fernando got into heated altercation after the batter was dismissed.
After his argument with Sri Lankan pacer Asitha Fernando on Day 1 of the current second Test at Colombo, star opener Yashasvi Jaiswal may be fortunate to avoid a ban, according to former Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara.
Fernando cleaned up the young left-hander with an in-swinging peach while he was at the top of his game, racing to 45 off 52 deliveries.
Jaiswal turned around and attacked Fernando after he gave him a fiery send-off in celebration. Other Sri Lankan players had to separate the two after they briefly made physical contact.
Pujara stated that he hopes Jaiswal plays in the New Zealand Test series and doesn’t get banned for his altercation with Fernando. He stated that if Jaiswal does get banned, it will be a lesson for him.
“You show it with your performance and not with words or body language. Yashasvi is generally a good guy and normally won't get into such things. Hopefully he'll play India's next Test in New Zealand and doesn't get banned because of this. But if he does, he will learn his lesson.
Someone from the team management must have a word with him. When you talk cricket with him, he talks a lot, as he wants to learn and improve. But the team management rarely talks with the players about such incidents and how they tackle them. So, the coaching staff has to sit with him and tell him that this isn't acceptable,” Pujara said on Sony Sports.
On the last day of the first Test at Galle, Jaiswal also got into a heated argument with Sri Lankan wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella.
In the same conversation, veteran Indian batter WV Raman feels that Yashasvi Jaiswal's angry reaction on the first day of the second Test was caused by his lack of significant scores in the current Sri Lankan series. Despite surpassing 30 twice, the 24-year-old has not yet reached a half-century in three innings of the series.
"Restraint is so important, or else you are going to get in trouble. There is a line that you can't cross. Here, it was more the frustration coming out from Jaiswal. He got out when he was shaping up really well in the first Test. You don't normally get run out like that in a Test match. Here, once again, he was set and got out to a delivery he should have played forward. He knows that he's letting go of opportunities, so it was that frustration coming out," said WV Raman.
Former wicketkeeper Saba Karim thinks Fernando and Jaiswal will suffer severe consequences for their actions.
"Someone should remind both of them that cricket is not a contact sport. It is cricket and not football. One can always remain aggressive without getting into an act like that. It was unnecessary. I am sure the match referee will come in with severe penalties for both of these players,” Karim said.
Meanwhile, Devdutt Padikkal’s 117 and half-centuries by Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, and Dhruv Jurel have pushed India’s score past 450 runs in the ongoing first innings.