Ambati Rayudu given two-match suspension for breaking BCCI code of conduct

Indian skipper Ambati Rayudu has been handed a two-match suspension for breaching the code of conduct of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Hyderabad captain Rayudu broke the board’s code of conduct during a match played between Hyderabad and Karnataka in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy on January 11. The charge was filed by on-field umpires Abhijit Deshmukh, Ulhas Gandhe, along with the third umpire Anil Dandekar.

Rayudu is banned from participating in the first two matches of the Vijay Hazare Trophy from Hyderabad team. The cricketer pleaded guilty to the charges and accepted the suspension proposed by the board.

The suspension came after Rayudu’s reaction after the match in a controversy-marred fixture went Karnataka’s way and the team was given two extra runs. Karnataka’s opener, Karun Nair, flicked a delivery by Mohammad Siraj over mid-wicket and picked up a couple of runs. However, Hyderabad’s Mehdi Hassan had touched the boundary rope while picking up the ball. The replayed video showed the incident but on-field umpire Gandhe did not consult the third umpire.

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When Karnataka came to bowl, skipper Vinay Kumar walked up to speak to the umpire and two runs were added to Hyderabad’s target, making the scorecard 206 from prior 204. This, in turn, irked Rayudu, whose team lost the match by two runs.

Speaking on the matter, Rayudu said after the game, “There was some confusion in the middle at the start of our innings. What I went and told the umpire was 'Sir, you cannot change the score, we are batting for 204 as our target'. That is exactly what I told him and he said 'we'll see it at the end, let the match start.' The match was stopped for nine minutes, before the second innings. They had no business to stop the match once the target was declared. Then, what we said was we were playing for 204, and that was my exact words.”

The BCCI is looking further into the role of Hyderabad team manager in the mentioned incident.