Should Ravindra Jadeja be worried about a Code of Conduct sanction after his multiple celebrappeals?

Ravindra Jadeja, who picked up 4-40 in the second innings of the Kanpur Test between India and New Zealand, set tongues wagging on social media with a succession of ‘celebrappeals’.

Most of Jadeja’s were more towards the celebration side of the equation: in one, he had already high-fived Cheteshwar Pujara at cover by the time the umpire began raising his finger. However, the left-arm spinner could theoretically cop the ire of the match referre for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct for celebrating the fall of his wickets before he could appeal to the umpire.

According to Article 2.1 (d), a player will be in violation of the Code of Conduct for “celebrating a dismissal without appealing to the Umpire when a decision is required,” which Jadeja seems to be guilty of.

Jadeja brought India into the game with three quicks wickets in the final session on day five but could face a sanction for his celebrappeals that semmingly go against the ICC Code of Conduct. The spinner went up in celebration immediately after getting the wickets of Kane Willaimson, Kyle Jamieson, and Tim Southee, all dismissed lbw, on day five without going up in appeal, which is a breach of the guidelines that have been laid out. Infringing on Article 2.1 counts as a level one breach, with punishments ranging from a warning to a 50 per cent match fee fine and two demerit points.

The celebrappeal has been made famous by Stuart Broad, with the England quick rushing down to celebrate the dismissal of Roston Chase after striking the all-rounder on the pad during last year’s third England-West Indies Test match. Though Broad had not been pulled up for breaching the Code of Conduct, he had admitted to “feeling a bit nervous” after he was in line for potential punishment.

However, while Jadeja is theoretically in danger, in practice he is likely to avoid sanction. The ICC’s website shows that, in the past five years, not a single cricketer has been punished for a celebrappeal.

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