BCCI slaps domestic ban on Rayudu

Mumbai, Jan 31 : Hyderabad captain Ambati Rayudu has been handed a two-match suspension for breaching the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) code of conduct during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match against Karnataka on January 11.

“Rayudu is barred from participating in the first two matches for Hyderabad in the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy,” the BCCI said in a statement on Wednesday.

“Rayudu pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by BCCI and, as such, there was no need for a formal hearing.”

The charge was levelled by on-field umpires Abhijit Deshmukh, Ulhas Vithalrao Gandhe and third umpire Anil Dandekar.

The incident took place during Hyderabad’s two-run defeat to Karnataka.

A flick by Karnataka opener Karun Nair off Hyderabad pacer Mohammed Siraj in the second over was stopped by Mehdi Hassan at the mid-wicket boundary.

While Nair took a couple of runs, video replays later showed that Hassan had touched the boundary rope while stopping the ball.

Before the start of the Hyderabad innings, the on-field umpires accepted an appeal from Karnataka skipper Vinay Kumar and revised the target to 206 runs from 204.

This irked Rayudu who protested before the officials, insisting that the target should remain at 204.

“The BCCI is further looking into the role of the Hyderabad team manager in this untoward incident,” the statement added.

IANS