Mumbai Indians batsman Tim David and batting coach Kieron Pollard have been fined 20% of their match fees for breaching the IPL's code of conduct during their match against Punjab Kings at Mullanpur on Thursday.
While the IPL did not reveal the details of the offence, both Pollard and David were penalised for signalling from the dugout to the batsmen on the field to request a review of a wide delivery.
The incident occurred on the last ball of the 15th over when Arshdeep Singh bowled a full and angled delivery outside off stump that Suryakumar Yadav failed to connect with. Suryakumar did not initially review the delivery, but belatedly asked for one. Punjab Kings stand-in captain Sam Curran approached the on-field umpire and is understood to have asked whether 15 seconds had elapsed.
It is understood that the on-field umpires were clear that the Mumbai batsmen had not looked in the direction of the dugout before asking for the review.
The IPL later sought the footage from the broadcaster to verify the sequence of events leading up to the review. After confirming that the Mumbai dugout had clearly prodded the batsmen on the field, the match officials informed the franchise of the breach.
The relevant clause in this case was 3.2.3 of the IPL playing conditions, which states: "The two batsmen may consult each other before deciding whether to request a Player Review. Under no circumstances shall a player question an umpire on any aspect of a decision before deciding whether or not to request a Player Review. If the on-field umpires believe that the captain or either batter has received direct or indirect input emanating other than from the players on the field, then they may at their discretion, decline the request for a Player Review. In particular, signals from the dressing room must not be given. Breach of this provision will be liable for reporting under COC."
According to an IPL media release, David and Pollard committed a Level 1 offence under Article 2.20, which covers all types of conduct contrary to the spirit of the game. However, it did not specify the offence.
Article 2.20 states: "In assessing the seriousness of the offence, the context of the particular situation and whether it was intentional, reckless, negligent, avoidable and/or accidental shall be taken into account. In addition, the person making the report will determine where the conduct falls on the scale of seriousness, which ranges from conduct of a minor nature (and therefore a level 1 offence) to conduct of an extremely serious nature (and therefore a level 4 offence)."
Both David and Pollard admitted the offence and accepted the sanction imposed by match referee Sanjay Verma.
Mumbai, who won the match by nine runs, are currently seventh on the points table with three wins and four losses from seven matches. Their next match is against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur on Monday.