Ankit Bawne suspended for one match after controversial dismissal in Ranji Trophy 2024-25
Published - 23 Jan 2025, 12:29 PM | Updated - 23 Jan 2025, 12:38 PM
Table of Contents
Maharashtra batter Ankit Bawne has been handed a one-match suspension for showing dissent during a group match against Services in the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2024-25. As a result, Bawne had to sit out of Maharashtra's Group A clash against Baroda, starting on January 23 in Nashik.
Ankit Bawne’s suspension was announced ahead of Maharashtra's Group A clash against Baroda in the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2024-25. The incident unfolded in Maharashtra's fifth-round game against Services, where the 32-year-old was the stand-in captain in the absence of Ruturaj Gaikwad.
Ankit Bawne’s dissent leads to one-match suspension in Ranji Trophy 2024-25
The right-handed batter refused to leave the field after being given out by the umpires. The controversy erupted when Bawne was given out despite there being clear evidence that the ball had bounced before Shubham Rohilla took the catch at slip off Amit Shukla's bowling.
With no Decision Review System (DRS) available due to the match being live-streamed and not televised, Ankit Bawne could not review the decision, but he stayed on the crease for nearly 15 minutes, leading to a delay in the match, and now the one-match suspension to the Maharashtra batter in the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2024-25.
The situation intensified, and match referee Amit Sharma and Maharashtra coach Sulakshan Kulkarni had to intervene to bring peace to the field in November last year.
The stand-in captain Ankit Bawne had to leave the field after playing a brilliant knock of 73 runs off 104 balls studded with eight boundaries and a single maximum in the first innings against the Services.
Sulakshan Kulkarni slams poor umpiring standards in domestic cricket
Ankit Bawne was more dangerous in the second innings, playing a gritty knock of an unbeaten 94 runs off 203 balls with the help of six boundaries to help Maharashtra chase down the target of 339 runs, as they defeated services by 35 runs in the Group A match at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune.
After the incident, Maharashtra coach Sulakshan Kulkarni criticized the poor umpiring standards in domestic cricket. He questioned why players face penalties but umpires are not facing any punishment despite making errors again and again.
Extending support to Ankit Bawne, Kulkarni stressed that the players’ frustration in such blunders is justified.
Sulakshan Kulkarni stated, “Players are subject to fines and reprimands. What about proper assessment of umpires? Why do the same erring umpires continue to officiate and play spoilsport? When there are blunders of this nature, the anger is justified.”
No playoff hope for Maharashtra this Ranji season
At the time, Maharashtra's regular captain, Ruturaj Gaikwad, who was playing for India A in Australia during that Ranji Trophy 2024-25 match, had shared replays of Bawne’s dismissal to express his frustration over the poor umpiring in the Ranji Trophy.
Notably, Maharashtra is currently the second-to-last team in the Group A points table with only 8 points from 5 games so far in the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2024-25. Now, they have no chance of making it to the Ranji Trophy 2204-25 playoffs.
The Group A table topper Baroda, second-ranked Jammu and Kashmir, and third-placed Mumbai have the best chances to progress to the final stages of the ongoing first-class tournament.
