BCCI did not give out details but it was clear that it had to do with the signals both David and Pollard gave to the MI batter Suryakumar Yadav for a wide call
BCCI took action against Mumbai Indians batter Tim David and batting coach Kieron Pollard after they were found guilty of breaching the IPL Code of Conduct during their match against the Punjab Kings in Mullanpur on Thursday. “Mumbai Indians batter Tim David and batting coach Kieron Pollard have been fined for breaching the IPL’s Code of Conduct during their team’s Tata Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 match against Punjab Kings at the PCA New International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur on April 18,” BCCI said.
MI dugout signalled for a DRS which was accepted by the umpires
BCCI said that David and Pollard’s offence was a Level 1 breach under Article 2,20 of IPL’s Code of Conduct and they were each fined 20% of their match fees after they accepted the sanction.
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“David and Pollard committed a Level 1 offence under Article 2.20 of the IPL’s Code of Conduct. David and Pollard were each fined 20 percent of their respective match fees. Both admitted to the offence and accepted the Match Referee’s sanction. For Level 1 breaches of the Code of Conduct, the Match Referee’s decision is final and binding,” BCCI said.
BCCI did not give out details of the nature of their offence but it was clear that it had to do with the signals both David and Pollard gave to the MI batters Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma to review a wide call in the 15th over of the match.
Why Kieron Pollard and Tim David were found guilty
It happened in the last ball of the 15th over when PBKS pacer Arshdeep Singh bowled a wide yorker and Suryakumar Yadav failed to make any contact. The umpire decided not to give it as a wide. However, the camera shifted the attention to the MI dugout, where the head coach, Mark Boucher, was seen gesturing to Suryakumar that it was a wide and Tim David, along with the batting coach Kieron Pollard, was seen urging the batter to take a review, by making the ‘T’ sign using his hands, as per Wisden.
SKY went for the review and much to the dismay of PBSK stand-in captain Sam Curran, it was allowed. The third umpire decided to overturn the decision and gave it a wide. Arshdeep had to bowl an extra delivery to complete the 15th over which went for a boundary.
According to Article 2.15 (b) of the IPL Code of Conduct for Players and Team Officials, a player playing on the field is forbidden to “seek assistance from any person off the field of play in order to decide whether to request a referral to the TV Umpire”.
That was not the only wide-related controversy that happened during the match. In the 19th over bowled by Curran, there was a wide yorker that seemed to go under David’s bat. But after it was sent upstairs, the third umpire decided to adjudge it as wide.
The umpiring standards of criticised by former Australia all-rounder Tom Moody. “It’s time we considered having specialist 3rd umpires, too many questionable decisions being made. Some umpires are better suited on field, the 3rd umpire requires experience and a certain skill set,” he wrote on X.
