The Jaiswal Asitha penalty is the matching one-demerit-point sanction the ICC handed Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sri Lanka’s Asitha Fernando after their on-field face-off during the Colombo Test. It is a Level 1 breach of the ICC’s Code of Conduct, the mildest rung on the ladder, and it stops well short of any match ban.
Key Takeaways
- Yashasvi Jaiswal and Asitha Fernando were both found guilty of a Level 1 breach of the ICC Code of Conduct following their confrontation in the Colombo Test.
- The Jaiswal Asitha penalty amounts to one demerit point each on their disciplinary record, not a suspension or fine escalation.
- Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar publicly criticised both the ICC and the BCCI, arguing the sanction was too soft to deter repeat offenders.
- Demerit points stay on a player’s file for 24 months and can convert into suspension points if the player reoffends.
What happened between Jaiswal and Asitha Fernando in the Colombo Test?
The flashpoint came during play in Colombo, when Jaiswal and Sri Lankan pacer Asitha Fernando exchanged words after a delivery, with both players squaring up before teammates and the umpires stepped in to separate them. Television cameras caught the moment clearly enough that the match referee did not need much convincing to open a hearing.
Match officials filed reports on both players once stumps were drawn, as is standard procedure whenever an on-field disagreement escalates beyond a stare or a word. Jaiswal and Fernando were then required to explain themselves to the on-field umpires, the third umpire and the match referee, who together decide whether a charge sticks.
What is a Level 1 breach under the ICC’s demerit points system?
The ICC Code of Conduct grades player misbehaviour into four levels, each carrying a different demerit point range. Level 1 covers relatively low-key incidents — brief dissent, an ill-timed word, a heated but brief confrontation. Level 4, at the other end, covers threats of violence or serious umpire abuse and can mean a lengthy ban.
| Level | Demerit Points | Typical Offence |
| Level 1 | 1-2 | Showing dissent, brief send-off gestures, minor confrontations |
| Level 2 | 3-4 | Using language to provoke an opponent, damaging the field |
| Level 3 | 5-6 | Aggressive send-offs, intimidating an umpire |
| Level 4 | 7-8 | Threatening physical violence, serious umpire abuse |
Because both players were slotted into Level 1, the Jaiswal Asitha penalty translated into one demerit point apiece, plus what reports describe as a standard reprimand from the match referee. Neither player missed any further playing time as a result.
Why do demerit points matter beyond the immediate match?
A demerit point isn’t just a symbolic slap. Under ICC regulations, every four demerit points a player accumulates within a rolling 24-month window convert into one suspension point. Collect two suspension points, and a player can be banned from a Test match or multiple limited-overs games. So a single point rarely changes anything on its own — but it builds a paper trail that matters if the same player is back in front of a match referee within two years.
Why is Sanjay Manjrekar unhappy with the ICC and BCCI’s response?
Former India batter and commentator Sanjay Manjrekar was among the loudest critics of how lightly the incident was treated. He argued that the ICC was “letting” young Indian players like Jaiswal and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi get away with repeated on-field flare-ups, and suggested the BCCI itself should be doing more to instil discipline rather than leaving it entirely to match referees.
It’s a fair question to put on paper: does a one-point penalty actually change behaviour, or does it just get logged and forgotten? The ICC’s own Code of Conduct documentation lays out the demerit point ladder in detail, and on paper the system is designed to escalate consequences for repeat offenders. Whether it does so in practice, especially for players with commercial value to broadcasters and boards, is the part critics like Manjrekar keep coming back to.
Did the match situation add fuel to the confrontation?
Context matters here. India were reportedly in a position of control in the Test, having enforced the follow-on against Sri Lanka — a tactical call that itself put the hosts under pressure and, inevitably, raised the emotional temperature on the field. Confrontations tend to spike exactly in these passages of play, when one side senses a result slipping away and the other smells one.
How does this compare to the BCCI’s own disciplinary paperwork?
This is where the story becomes less about one exchange of words and more about a pattern worth tracking. Indian players have picked up demerit points in bunches over the past few years — for excessive appealing, for send-offs, for dissent shown to umpires — and the common thread in the criticism is that boards rarely publish any internal disciplinary process of their own. The ICC’s match referee report is, in effect, the only paper trail that exists.
That’s precisely why a sports administration reporter treats these episodes the way a beat reporter treats a municipal file: the demerit point is the only verifiable document in a story otherwise built on television replays and dressing-room silence. Everything else — whether the BCCI privately counselled Jaiswal, whether Sri Lanka Cricket did the same with Fernando — happens off the record, if it happens at all.
FAQ
What exactly was the Jaiswal Asitha penalty?
Both Yashasvi Jaiswal and Asitha Fernando were given one demerit point each for a Level 1 breach of the ICC Code of Conduct after their confrontation during the Colombo Test.
Did either player get suspended?
No. A Level 1 breach and a single demerit point do not trigger a suspension. Suspensions only follow once a player crosses the suspension-point threshold built from accumulated demerit points.
How long do demerit points stay on a player’s record?
Demerit points remain active for 24 months from the date they are imposed, after which they no longer count toward a suspension.
Why did Sanjay Manjrekar criticise the ICC and BCCI?
Manjrekar felt the punishment was too lenient to change behaviour and argued both the ICC and the BCCI needed to take a firmer line with players who repeatedly cross the line on the field.
What is a Level 1 offence in cricket’s Code of Conduct?
It’s the mildest of four offence categories in the ICC’s disciplinary framework, covering things like brief dissent or a short-lived confrontation, and it carries one to two demerit points.
Conclusion
Strip away the outrage and what’s left is a one-line entry in a disciplinary file: one demerit point each for Jaiswal and Fernando. The louder argument — over whether that entry is enough to actually change how players behave under pressure — is the one still unresolved on paper.