Rahane Reveals Why He Sent Jaiswal Off Field in Duleep Trophy Final

During the Duleep Trophy 2022 final in Coimbatore, former Indian captain Ajinkya Rahane provided shocking reasoning for his decision to remove Yashasvi Jaiswal from the pitch.

On September 25, 2022, Day 5 of the competition, Rahane was leading West Zone versus South Zone when tragedy struck. In the 50th over of South Zone’s second innings, Jaiswal got into a fight with Ravi Teja. When officials addressed Rahane about the young batter’s conduct, the situation became worse.

Rahane instantly decided to encourage Jaiswal to take a short break from the game. After missing seven overs, the batter returned.

Rahane explained the critical reasoning behind this decision in a recent interview. He believed Jaiswal had unwittingly gone beyond what was deemed appropriate behaviour, and that if nothing was done, the young player would be punished for four games.

“I assessed the situation. At the time, I had a feeling things were going to get out of hand. At that point, Yashasvi must have felt horrible. However, I had a notion of what might happen next.

I’ve seen a lot of cases when players have been blacklisted, and you never know how things change. You miss one opportunity, and your time is up. You never know. I sensed the situation and understood it was getting out of control.

Both players were losing control. In an interview with The Indian Express, Rahane stated that it was his obligation to stop his colleague.

Rahane was prepared to accept a four-match suspension from the match referee.

Prior to Rahane’s intervention, the match referee had already planned a four-match suspension for Jaiswal. However, the referee was unprepared for the West Zone captain’s crucial move.

Rahane then revealed the astonishing outcome of his choice. The match referee presented him with a written ban letter for enforcement, something he did not expect.

They had no idea I would do such a thing. The match referee was ready with a four-match suspension. A letter was written. He approached me and said, ‘This is the letter, but because you did this, I’m tearing it up.’ He ripped up the letter in front of me.

In the end, I was relieved that Jaiswal avoided a match ban and is currently playing for India. What might have happened? Perhaps he wouldn’t have played after that. He’s a good player. I am not taking any credit away from him. “But you never know,” he said.

Rahane’s intervention, and the match referee’s response

Rather than being punished for four games, Jaiswal was fined 15 to 20% of his match expenses. In the final, the young batsman struck 265 runs off 323 balls in West Zone’s innings to secure the victory. West Zone won by 294 runs, with Jaiswal named Player of the Match.