Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], April 7: Gujarat Titans’ veteran pacer Ishant Sharma has been fined 25% of his match fees and handed one demerit point for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct during the team’s dominant win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Sunday.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) issued a formal statement confirming that Ishant admitted to a Level 1 offence under Article 2.2 and accepted the sanction imposed by match referee Javagal Srinath.
“Ishant Sharma, Bowler, Gujarat Titans, has been fined 25 per cent of his match fees and has also accumulated One Demerit Point for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct,” the statement read.
“He admitted to the Level 1 offence under Article 2.2 and accepted the Match Referee’s sanction. For Level 1 breaches, the Match Referee’s decision is final and binding.”
While the nature of the breach wasn’t elaborated on in the statement, the penalty capped off what was a dismal outing for the 36-year-old seamer.
In a high-stakes fixture at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Ishant was severely punished by SRH batters, leaking 53 runs in his four-over spell—the most by any bowler in the match. He was later replaced by Sherfane Rutherford under the Impact Player rule during GT’s chase.
Ishant’s form has been under scrutiny in IPL 2025. Across three matches, he has conceded 107 runs in just eight overs, picking up only a single wicket. This makes him the most expensive bowler of the season so far in terms of economy.
Despite Ishant’s struggles, GT managed to restrict SRH to 152/8, thanks to brilliant performances from the likes of Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, and Sai Kishore.
Chasing 153, GT recovered from early blows as Shubman Gill played a captain’s knock—anchoring the innings with an unbeaten 61 off 43 balls. Supported by Washington Sundar and Sherfane Rutherford, GT cruised to a seven-wicket win with 20 balls to spare, marking their third consecutive win and securing second place on the IPL 2025 points table.