Veteran commentator Harsha Bhogle cautioned young India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal against letting his combative personality overshadow his extraordinary batting talent following a heated on-field altercation with Sri Lankan pacer Asitha Fernando.
The incident took place on Day 1 of the second Test between two teams at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) in Colombo.
During the 17th over of India's first innings, Jaiswal hit Fernando for three boundaries but was clean-bowled on the final delivery for 45. After being dismissed, Jaiswal received a fiery send-off, prompting him to walk back towards the bowler where their heads/helmets briefly clashed before teammates intervened to defuse the situation.
Speaking on Cricbuzz, Bhogle shared his two cents on the confrontation, pointing out how on-field provocations can quickly draw players into heated reactions.
Bhogle further highlighted while Jaiswal was provoked, the southpaw also gave it back to the opponent.
"As you give so you must take. The easiest thing is just to go away... The last thing I would want for someone of his extraordinary ability is to let that person override the extraordinary batter that he is and get him into a little bit of trouble," Bhogle said.
Harsha Bhogle's comment, however, wasn’t received well by Yashasvi Jaiswal, who advised the seasoned broadcaster not to pass a judgment if he doesn’t know what transpired in the middle.
“If you don’t know what he said then please don’t make your judgment if anyone cross the line we need to let them know this India will fight and reply,” Jaiswal commented on the analysis post featuring Bhogle.
Addressing the media after the opening day’s play, India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak defended Jaiswal's actions as a purely emotional, situational response, but noted that the left-hander "should not have gone so close" to the bowler in retaliation.
"I think the bowler commented something and it happened in the heat of moment. Obviously Yashasvi shouldn’t have gone so close to him but it happened in the heat of the moment," Kotak told reporters.
Despite the coach playing it down, the clash is being reviewed. ICC Match Referee Andy Pycroft will evaluate video footage for inappropriate physical contact or offensive send-offs, which could trigger demerit points or official sanctions under the ICC Code of Conduct.
