Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) young pacer Harshit Rana's "over-the-top celebration" following the dismissal of Mayank Agarwal during KKR vs SRH IPL 2024 match on Saturday (March 23) has stirred up some controversy.
Harshit Rana blew a 'flying kiss' towards Hyderabad batter Mayank Agarwal as he made his way back to the dugout.
Mayank was batting really well but his innings was abruptly halted when he gave a catch at deep backward square leg, resulting in his dismissal after scoring 32 runs off 21 balls on the third delivery of the sixth over.
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It was Rana's celebration following Agarwal's departure that grabbed the spotlight, but in a negative way.
In response to Rana's disrespectful behavior and violation of the IPL's Code of Conduct, the Board of Cricket in India (BCCI) swiftly took action by imposing a significant fine, equivalent to 60% of his match fees.
"Kolkata Knight Riders bowler Harshit Rana has been fined a total of 60 percent 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.
Like many others, cricketer-turned-commentator Sunil Gavaskar was disappointed with Harshit Rana for his action.
"He should not have done that. Did the batsman do anything to him when he was hitting him for sixes? Cricket can be played without these antics. It's the age of television. I understand that. Celebrate with your teammates but no need for such antics for the opposition," Gavaskar had said on-air.
Harshit Rana's last-over heroics save KKR from defeat
Harshi Rana defended 13 runs against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the final six balls of the match to power his team Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to 4-run win.