Rathi's 'notebook' celebration earns him another fine and two demerit points

Digvesh Rathi, who sent Naman Dhir off with a "writing in the notebook" celebration in the IPL 2025 match between Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Mumbai Indians (MI) on Friday night in Lucknow, has been fined 50% of his match fee and given two demerit points. His captain Rishabh Pant, meanwhile, was fined INR 12 lakh for his team's slow over rate in the game, which LSG won by 12 runs.

For Rathi, it was the second such offence and penalty under Article 2.5 of the ICC Code of Conduct. He was fined 25% of his match fee when he had sent Priyansh Arya back with a similar gesture - and a bit of body contact - in an eight-wicket defeat in Lucknow on April 1. That earned him one demerit point, too. The latest Level 1 code of conduct breach came with a bigger fine as a result, even though he was some distance away from the batter. The offence also earned him two demerit points to go with the one he had from the earlier occasion.

According to the IPL Code of Conduct, four demerit points add up to one suspension point, meaning the player will be forced to sit out one match when that mark is reached. Since the demerit points remain on an individual's record for a period of 36 months, Rathi will have to be careful even in the upcoming seasons.

It is understood that Rathi was told by the match officials after his first offence about the rule and why he was penalised*. On Friday, Rathi was again pulled up, but he said that he was under the impression that the first time he was sanctioned for charging towards the batter.

For the 25-year-old Delhi mystery spinner in his debut IPL season, the latest reprimand came on a day when he had his best night out of the season so far. MI, chasing LSG's 203 for 8, were in a strong position for the best part of their innings till they lost their way towards the end to go down. Rathi returned 1 for 21, an economy rate of 5.25. None of the other LSG bowlers on show on the night went at under 10 an over. Rathi was named the Player of the Match.

Pant, who had another poor day with the bat, scoring 2 in six balls after 17 runs in his three earlier innings, became the third captain to be fined for his team's slow over-rates in IPL 2025, after Hardik Pandya of MI and Riyan Parag of Rajasthan Royals (RR).