Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra offered a nuanced take on the Yashasvi Jaiswal-Asitha Fernando on-field incident on the opening day of the second Test between India and Sri Lanka and acknowledged Harsha Bhogle’s old-school belief that Jaiswal should have walked away, while also questioning whether the Indian batter can be blamed for reacting to repeated provocation. Chopra noted that Jaiswal has faced banter and send-offs in the ongoing Test series, some of which cross the line, and suggested that both perspectives have merit.
As a consequence, Jaiswal and Fernando were each fined 25 per cent of their match fees and received one demerit point. Neither player had committed any previous offence in the 24 months preceding the incident.
Chopra’s remark came after Jaiswal responded to a Cricbuzz video featuring cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle, titled ‘Did Jaiswal cross the line?’, urging people not to judge the incident without knowing what was said between the two players. The incident took place during the 17th over of India’s innings after Fernando dismissed Jaiswal. The Indian batter approached the Sri Lankan pacer and the two exchanged words before Fernando moved his head towards Jaiswal. Jaiswal then leaned forward, resulting in the pair making head-to-head contact.
