Nagpur: Former England captain Michael Vaughan has questioned India spin king Ravindra Jadeja’s handling of the ball after the star bowler was filmed applying a mystery substance to his hand on the first day of the Test series against Australia.
Jadeja, the star of day one of the Border-Gavaskar series with figures of 5/47, was seen taking a substance from the hand of a teammate before applying it on his left index finger which he then used to grip the ball.
The incident, which also caught the eye of former Australia Test skipper Tim Paine, occurred during the second session of the first Test at the start of the 46th over, after Jadeja had landed three hammer blows on Australia’s middle order.
India’s Ravindra Jadeja is given the ball after getting five wickets as he walks back during the first day of the first cricket test match against Australia.Credit:
It is not clear what substance Jadeja applied to his finger but there were reports in Indian media on Thursday night that it was an ointment for a sore finger.
Under the ICC’s World Test Championship playing conditions, players are not allowed to use an artificial substance on the ball.
The ICC is aware of the footage, which has been widely circulated on social media, and said it would be up to the match officials to deem what, if any, action should be taken.
“What is it he is putting on his spinning finger? Never ever seen this …,” Vaughan tweeted to his 1.5 million followers on Twitter.
Paine was told of the incident on the social media platform. “Interesting,” Paine wrote.
The episode follows a controversial build-up to the blockbuster series in which the curators selectively watered and rolled the pitch in their preparation of the Test strip.
Their bizarre methods, which included the use of a spray gun strapped to the back of ground staff to deliver a fine mist on the pitch, left dry patches outside the off-stump of the left-hander.
Jadeja spun India into a strong position by claiming the prized wickets of Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith as part of his 11th Test five-for.
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