Ahead of Rajasthan Royals match against Delhi Capitals on Friday, their head coach Kumar Sangakkara has spoken for the first time after skipper Riyan Parag was caught vaping in the dressing room during RR’s last match in the IPL against Punjab Kings in New Chandigarh.
RR’s campaign this season has been on the track and they look good to qualify to the playoffs. But the off-field controversies have been a major distraction for the franchise. First it was their team manager, Romi Bhinder, who was spotted using a mobile phone in the dugout during a match and now the Parag incident.
The Board of Control for India (BCCI) on Thursday took action against Parag, by imposing a 25 per cent fine of his match fees and handing him one demerit point.
Sangakkara said the recent controversies “are no positives for the team”, and have been addressed by the franchise.
“Such controversies are no positives for the team and all I can say is that both issues have been addressed by the BCCI and the franchise,” he said on the eve of RR’s match against Delhi Capitals. “It is a reminder to the players that they have to maintain the team’s culture.”
In its statement on Parag, the IPL said the BCCI is thinking about taking strict action not just against the player, but also the Rajasthan Royals franchise and its officials, to protect the league’s reputation.
The statement read: “The BCCI is also exploring other options to initiate proceedings for stringent action against the erring team, its officials and player/s to ensure that the reputation of IPL remains intact.”
This was also confirmed by BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia, who told PTI, “As it is written clearly in the statement, we are exploring what action to take on the team. It is not decided yet.”
Meanwhile, Sangakkara speaking about Parag’s form this season, said the RR skipper hasn’t scored heavily but did play an important role in the win over Punjab earlier this week. “His little innings shifted the momentum in our way,” Sangakkara said. “He brought the momentum back in our favour.”
