Even though Yashasvi Jaiswal provided an explanation for his actions on the first day of the second Test match against Sri Lanka, the opening batsman is still under fire for allegedly “headbutting” Asitha Fernando, a pacer for Sri Lanka, after being provoked. On the first day of the Colombo Test, Jaiswal and Fernando got into a heated argument after the former was bowled by the pacer. After the opener was sent off, Jaiswal retaliated by racing back and nearly striking.
The two players got into a furious argument that turned physical. Jaiswal was still wearing his helmet when their heads made contact in what appeared to be a shove rather than a direct headbutt. Devdutt Padikkal tried to pull Jaiswal away, but Sri Lanka captain Dhananjaya de Silva intervened to diffuse the altercation. Before things were finally brought under control, the India opener kept moving in Fernando’s direction.
Before the second day began on Monday, Jaiswal responded to the criticism on social media, justifying his actions and claiming that nobody knew what had been said to him in the middle. He concluded by stating, “India knows how to give back.” Jaiswal and Fernando were also fined 25% of their match fees by the ICC on Monday. Additionally, each player received one demerit point.
On Sony Sports Network, Pujara said, “It’s not an ideal visual. As a player, you need to control your emotions. Sometimes you do get angry. I can understand that till the time he was disappointed, or he was when he was having a chat, at that time. I think that’s acceptable till then. It is all fine, but the moment it got to a point where both of them were going against each other, there was body contact, which is not acceptable on the field.”
However, Raman claimed that there was more to it than first appeared, as the opener may have been irritated by his inability to convert his starts thus far in the series against Sri Lanka.
Raman said, “There’s always a little bit of exchange of words on a cricket field. It happens, and especially after a wicket falls, but restraint is so important because if you don’t restrain yourself, you’re going to get in trouble, and there’s always that line that you can’t cross. He got out when he was shaping really well in the first Test. You don’t normally get run out like that in a Test match, and here once again, he was set, and he gets out to a delivery, which he could have played forward. He knows that he’s letting go of opportunities. So the little bit of frustration is coming out.”
