By IANS,
Mumbai : Indian Premier League (IPL) Saturday ordered a detailed inquiry into Mumbai Indians stand-in skipper Harbhajan Singh’s alleged physical assault on Kings XI pacer Sreesanth.
IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi confirmed that Kings XI Punjab has lodged an official complaint on the matter and said the inquiry would be carried out as per the guidelines of the International Cricket Council (ICC).
“I have officially received a complaint from the Kings XI team management about the alleged incident at Mohali,” Modi said in a statement.
“The complaint has been forwarded to the match referee Farokh Engineer for a detailed inquiry as per the ICC Code of Conduct and the ICC disciplinary procedures for team players and officials, which will be applied with immediate effect in this case,” he added.
Modi said IPL had a clear and transparent code of conduct, which strictly follows the ICC code and disciplinary procedures.
“The IPL governing council is awaiting the final report from the match referee after which it will decide on the future course of action.”
Sreesanth was seen crying after Kings XI defeated Mumbai Indians by 66 runs in Mohali Friday night.
After the match, Harbhajan had allegedly slapped Sreesanth following an altercation between the two.
Kings XI Punjab Saturday termed Harbhajan’s behaviour as “unacceptable and against the spirit of the game” and lodged a formal complaint with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
“We confirm that a formal complaint against Harbhajan Singh was submitted to the BCCI today,” Kings XI Punjab said in a statement Saturday.
“The complaint is in relation to Friday’s incident following the match against Mumbai Indians where Harbhajan made an unprovoked attack on Sreesanth. The Kings XI Punjab team and management consider this behaviour unacceptable and against the spirit of the game,” the statement added.
BCCI has already slapped a show cause notice on Harbhajan and asked the off-spinner to explain by Monday why “disciplinary action should not be taken against him”.
“The BCCI has taken serious note of the incident between Harbhajan Singh and Sreesanth at Mohali yesterday after the IPL Match,” BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah said in a release.
Under the ICC Code of Conduct as adopted by the IPL, the match referee is the authority to investigate such allegations, take statements from the players concerned and any other witnesses and consider any other evidence.