Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja accused of ball tampering by Australian media

Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has been accused of ball tampering by Australian media!

The video clips are being widely circulated on social media from the first day of the Nagpur Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Video footage of Thursday’s play shows Jadeja rubbing a substance on his finger, which made the viewers believe that he was involved in ball tampering.

The allegations were levelled when Australia had reached 120-5 in their first innings, with Jadeja having already taken the wickets of Marnus Labuschagne, Matt Renshaw and Steven Smith.

The video shows Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj passing the ointment to Jadeja as the latter gets ready to bowl his over. It is pertinent to note that Jadeja picked up a five-wicket haul in the first innings of the match to help bowl the Aussies out for just 177 runs.

As reported, Ravindra Jadeja and skipper Rohit Sharma were called by the ICC match referee at the end of Day 1 of the 1st Test vs Australia for alleged ‘ball-tampering’. 

The video was shown to Indian skipper Rohit Sharma and Jadeja after the end of the day’s play and it was made clear that he was applying a pain relief ointment on his sore finger.

The Indian team management has told ICC match referee Andy Pycroft that Ravindra Jadeja was applying pain-relief cream to the index finger of his bowling hand in the video clips doing rounds on social media.

Meanwhile, Former Australian captain Michael Clarke reacting to the viral video, shared his opinion.

He said that it would have been better if Jadeja had handed the ball to the umpire before applying anything to his finger.

 

“He’s bowling so much that he’s probably got a blister or cut on that finger. What he should have done there, he should have given the ball to the umpire and stand in front of the umpire while he was putting it on his finger,” Clarke was quoted as saying by The Hindustan Times.

“I don’t look at that and think it’s a thing. I just wish he didn’t have the ball in his hand. If he chucks the ball to the umpire and does that I don’t think there’s any comment made about that. It’s just a perception. I don’t think there’s anything to it. I could be 100 per cent wrong,” he added.

Here are some Twitter reactions to the incident in question: