In a heated clash between Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2024, a moment of excitement turned contentious, sparking a debate on sportsmanship. Harshit Rana, the young pace bowler from Kolkata Knight Riders, stole the spotlight with his exuberant celebration after dismissing Sunrisers’ Mayank Agarwal. Rana’s animated gestures, including blowing a flying kiss towards Mayank, drew criticism from cricketing legend Sunil Gavaskar.
“Couldn’t see any of that earlier on when he was hitting you for boundaries. No need to do that Mr. Rana. It’s just a wicket in cricket. The batter didn’t do that to him when he was hitting boundaries,” Gavaskar said.
Gavaskar, renowned for his keen insights, voiced his disapproval of Rana’s behaviour, emphasizing the importance of composure and respect towards opponents. He remarked that while celebrations are part of the game, taunting opposition players is unnecessary and detracts from the spirit of cricket.
“I know we are all in the television age. We need to be seen doing certain things. You can play cricket without doing that. By all means, celebrate. Celebrate with the team. But, there’s no need to do that to an opposition player,” the legendary batter added.
KKR open IPL 2024 campaign with a win:
Despite the controversy, Kolkata Knight Riders emerged victorious in a thrilling encounter, largely due to Rana’s exceptional performance in the final over. Despite conceding a six off the first ball, Rana displayed remarkable composure, conceding only two runs and claiming two crucial wickets to seal a narrow four-run win for KKR.
BCCI penalise Harshit Rana:
On Sunday, the BCCI took note of the event and fined the bowler 60%. Following the game, the board stated that Harshit Rana had received the punishment for violating the IPL Code of Conduct.
“Kolkata Knight Riders bowler Harshit Rana has been fined a total of 60 per cent of his match fees for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct during his team’s Tata Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 match against Sunrisers Hyderabad at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on March 23,” a statement from the BCCI read.
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