Harbhajan Singh fined for dissent

Punjab captain Harbhajan Singh has been fined 50% of his match fee for showing dissent at the umpire's decision on the second day of their Ranji Trophy quarter-final against Jharkhand in Jamshedpur.

The incident occurred in the fifth over after tea. Harbhajan, who replaced Manpreet Gony, changed the angle by going round the wicket to Sunny Gupta. The ball lobbed off the pads and went to silly point where the fielder plucked a sharp chance. A huge appeal followed but the umpire CK Nandan turned it down. Harbhajan was so furious at the decision that the other umpire Sanjay Hazare had to step in from square leg to calm him down. Harbhajan showed his disapproval by not just gesturing at the umpire but also kicking the turf in disappointment.

"Harbhajan was found guilty under the article 2.1.3 of the BCCI's Code of Conduct for the players. As a result, he has been fined 50% of his match fees for a Level 1 offence," the match referee Sunil Chaturvedi said after conducting a hearing that involved Harbhajan, both the umpires and Punjab coach Arun Sharma.

Chaturvedi was seen going through the video footage of the incident. It was followed by a hearing, which lasted 20 minutes.

Article 2.1.3 of the BCCI's Code of Conduct for players deals with "(a) excessive, obvious disappointment with an Umpire's decision; (b) an obvious delay in resuming play or leaving the wicket; (c) shaking the head; (d) pointing or looking at the inside edge when given out lbw; (e) pointing to the pad or rubbing the shoulder when caught behind; (f) snatching the cap from the Umpire; (g) requesting a referral to the TV Umpire; and (h) arguing or entering into a prolonged discussion with the Umpire about his decision."

The clause ends with: "It shall not be a defence to any charge brought under this Article to show that the Umpire might have, or in fact did, get any decision wrong."