West Indies pacer Jayden Seales has been fined 25 percent of his match fee and received one demerit point for a Level 1 breach of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Code of Conduct. This incident occurred during the opening day of the second Test against India at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
The controversy unfolded on Friday in the 29th over of India’s first innings. After fielding the ball in his follow-through, Seales threw it towards Indian batter Yashasvi Jaiswal, hitting him on the pads.
An ICC statement officially confirmed the breach: “Seales was found to have violated Article 2.9 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which pertains to ‘throwing a ball (or any other item of cricket equipment) at or near a player in an inappropriate and/or dangerous manner during an International Match’.”
The governing body further detailed the disciplinary action, stating, “In addition to this, one demerit point has been added to Seales’ disciplinary record, increasing his total demerit points to two within a 24-month period.” His previous demerit point was registered during a Test match against Bangladesh in December 2024.
Seales initially contested the sanction proposed by match referee Andy Pycroft, leading to a formal hearing. The ICC reported, “Seales argued that he was attempting a run out. However, the Match Referee, after reviewing replay clips from various angles, concluded that the throw was unnecessary and inappropriate, striking the batter on the pads while he was clearly within the crease.”
The charge against Seales was brought forward by on-field umpires Richard Illingworth and Paul Reiffel, third umpire Alex Wharf, and fourth umpire K.N. Ananthapadmanabhan. The ICC clarified that “Level 1 breaches typically carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand, a maximum penalty of 50 per cent of a player’s match fee, and one or two demerit points.”
This incident took place during a strong start to India’s innings, with Jaiswal at the crease following his impressive double century in the first Test held in Ahmedabad. Although the throw did not result in an injury, the match referee determined it to be “inappropriate conduct” under the sport’s disciplinary code.