India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been banned for two one-day internationals because of their slow over-rate and The Indian players have also been penalized 40% of their match fees against Sri Lanka on Friday.
The thrilling second one-dayer ended about 45 minutes after the scheduled finish time because of frequent discussions between the Indian players during the closing stages of Sri Lanka’s chase, prompting the International Cricket Council to impose the ban on the Indian captain.
The decision to ban Dhoni was taken by match referee Jeff Crowe of New Zealand, considering the quantum of extra time the Indians took to complete their allotted overs.
The BCCI, however, has not made any official announcement yet on who will take over the captaincy in case Dhoni’s ban comes into effect immediately.
Dhoni’s ban comes as a huge set-back for the Indians in the ongoing series with three matches still remaining to be played. The five-match series is currently tied 1-1 after India won the first match in Rajkot by three runs, while the Sri Lankans snatched a thrilling three wicket victory in the second game here yesterday.
