Both players have also had a demerit point added to their respective disciplinary records.
The incident in question, which an ICC statement described as “a confrontation”, took place after Asitha dismissed Jaiswal off the last ball of the 17th over on the first morning. Jaiswal had been on his way to the dressing room when he appeared to change direction and moved towards Asitha, presumably in response to words that came out of the celebratory Sri Lanka huddle, in which Asitha was the central figure.
“Jaiswal walked towards Fernando and the two exchanged words, following which Fernando moved his head towards Jaiswal,” the statement described. “In response, Jaiswal leant in, resulting in their heads making contact.”
TV visuals, however, suggested that Jaiswal initiated the physical contact. Jaiswal had turned and walked towards Asitha, who also took a small step towards the dismissed batter. That was when Jaiswal leaned his helmeted head towards Asitha, who did not back away in that moment.
The conduct of both players was deemed to be in breach of Article 2.12 of the ICC’s code of conduct for players and player support personnel. Neither Jaiswal nor Asitha had committed a similar offence that involved a demerit point in the 24-month period leading up to Sunday.
Level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand, a maximum penalty of 50% of a player’s match fee, and one or two demerit points.
Jaiswal had scored 45 off 53 balls when he became the second batter to be dismissed, with the team total at 66 after India had won the toss and opted to bat. Asitha ended up removing Shubman Gill and Ravindra Jadeja before the first day was out, with India finishing on 300 for 5.
