Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been suspended for two ODIs for India's slow over-rate during the team's three-wicket loss to Sri Lanka in Nagpur on Friday.
ICC Match Referee Jeff Crowe imposed the ban after India were found three overs short of the target in the second ODI. The entire team has been docked 40 per cent of its match fee.
Dhoni will not be eligible to play in the next two ODIs in Cuttack (December 21) and Kolkata (December 24). Virender Sehwag has been named skipper for the two matches.
As per the rules of the International Cricket Council,the captain receives two suspension points while the players lose 10 per cent of their match fees for the first two overs short and 20 per cent for every additional over the side fails to bowl in the allotted time. Two suspension points in the enhanced code means a ban of one Test or two ODIs. Crowe gave his verdict after a hearing attended by Dhoni, coach Gary Kirsten, on-field umpires Marais Erasmus and Shavir Tarapore, and third umpire Sanjay Hazare.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India said it will not appeal against the ban. Top Board officials held a discussion with the skipper and explained their position. Before the ban was announced by the ICC, the team management was told about the impending decision. "We bowled eight overs in the last one hour.
How can we appeal in such a case," a top Board official said. The bowling was at par until the 42nd over.
Dhoni's woes, may not end immediately. If he is found guilty of a similar offence in the next 12 months, he could face ban between two to eight matches. It may be recalled that Sourav Ganguly was banned for six ODIs by Chris Broad in 2005. Meanwhile, the selectors have recalled Ishant Sharma, in place of an ailing S Sreesanth and Dinesh Karthik in place of Dhoni for two ODIs.
Squad: Virender Sehwag (capt), Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Ishant Sharma, Virat Kohli, Sudeep Tyagi, Praveen Kumar and Pragyan Ojha
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