Rishabh Pant faces possible ICC sanctions after heated exchange with umpire on Day 3 at Headingley

India Test vice-captain Rishabh Pant may land in trouble after a confrontation with umpire Paul Reiffel on Day 3 of the opening Test against England at Headingley, Leeds.

The incident occurred after England batter Harry Brook struck a boundary off Mohammed Siraj. Pant expressed dissatisfaction with the condition of the ball and requested the umpire to look into it. But, Reiffel found no irregularities and declined to replace the ball.

In frustration, the 27-year-old tossed the ball to the ground, a gesture that drew loud boos from the Headingley crowd. The wicketkeeper-batter’s actions could potentially violate two provisions of the ICC Code of Conduct.

The first possible breach relates to ‘showing dissent at an umpire’s decision during an international match,’ coming from his argument with Reiffel. The second pertains to Article 2.9, which prohibits ‘throwing a ball (or any other item of cricket equipment such as a water bottle) at or near a player, player support personnel, umpire, match referee or any other third person in an inappropriate and/or dangerous manner during an international match’.

Pant completes 150 catches

Pant, meanwhile, reached a significant personal milestone during the same day’s play. With the dismissal of Ollie Pope, caught behind off Prasidh Krishna, Pant completed 150 catches as a wicket-keeper in Test cricket. He now joins an elite list of Indian keepers to reach this landmark, behind only Syed Kirmani (160 catches) and MS Dhoni (256 catches).

Pant currently has a total of 151 catches and 15 stumpings, bringing his tally to 166 dismissals in Tests. MS Dhoni remains the most successful Indian wicket-keeper with 256 catches and 38 stumpings, totalling 294 dismissals.