IND vs AUS: Indian Team Management Tells Match-Referee Ravindra Jadeja Used Pain-Relieving Cream On Spinning Finger

IND vs AUS: Notably, footage of Jadeja taking some substance from Mohammed Siraj and rubbing it on his bowling finger had gone viral on social media

India's captain Rohit Sharma (L) and teammate Ravindra Jadeja reacts after the dismissal of Australia's Todd Murphy during the first day of the first Test cricket match between India and Australia at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium in Nagpur on February 9, 2023.

Source : AFP

Amid questions on senior India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja's intergrity and an allegation of ball-tampering, the Indian team management has reportedly informed the ICC match referee Andy Pycroft that comeback man was using a pain-relieving cream on his spinner finger on Day 1 of the Nagpur Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on Thursday.

Notably, footage of Jadeja taking some substance from Mohammed Siraj and rubbing it on his bowling finger had gone viral on social media with Fox Cricket questioning the action. Former Australia skipper Tim Paine called it "interesting" while ex-England captain Michael Vaughan said that he had never seen anything like this in his entire life.

The incident in question happen at a time when Jadeja was also troubling the batters and had taken the wickets of Steven Smith, Matt Renshaw, and Marnus Labuschagne, reducing Australia to 120/5. 

An ESPNCricinfo report has now claimed that the Indian management has talked to the match referee about the issue. The report adds that despite the video going viral and questions being raised on social media, the Australian team had not brought the matter to the notice of the match referee.

The referee could independently investigate the details of the action and a formal complaint need not be made. It is pertinent to note that apart from making sure that the condition of the ball is not tampered with, the bowler also needs to get the approval of the on-field umpires before applying anything on his hands. 

Talking about Jadeja's performance, the left-arm spinner, coming off a long injury layoff scalped 5 wickets for 47 runs as India bowled out Australia for 177 in the first innings. It was Jadeja who got rid of Smith and Labuschagne the two batters who looked the best in the visitors first batting innings on the tour.

In response, India ended Day 1 on 77/1 with Rohit Sharma scoring an unbeaten half-century.