“It was a surprise that he was fined then” - Sunil Gavaskar’s huge statement on Digvesh Rathi ahead of LSG vs CSK IPL 2025 match

Former Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar expressed surprise at Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) spinner Digvesh Rathi's penalties for his 'Notebook celebrations' in IPL 2025. Playing in his maiden IPL season, Digvesh has been a revelation with the ball, picking up eight wickets in six outings at an average of 23.12 and an economy of 7.70.

However, he has dominated the headlines for his notebook celebrations after dismissing opposition batters. Digvesh subsequently got fined 25 and 50 percent of his match fees for his celebrations after the dismissals of Priyansh Arya and Naman Dhir in back-to-back matches against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) and the Mumbai Indians (MI).

In his column for the Mid Day, Gavaskar questioned penalizing Digvesh a second time, writing:

"The first time he (Digvesh) did that was when he got the wicket of his Delhi teammate Priyansh Arya. He was rightly fined then because he ran right up to the batter who was leaving back for the dug out and did the notebook celebration standing bang next to him. However, the next time he did that he was nowhere near the batter and so it was a surprise that he was fined then. He wasn’t in the batter’s space or face and so shouldn’t have been fined."

Despite earning three demerit points for his celebratory acts, Digvesh has played a massive role in LSG punching above their weight in IPL 2025. After being dismissed by most pundits and fans pre-tournament, LSG have surprised many with four wins in six matches.

They will take on the struggling Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Lucknow today (April 14).

"Cricketers are copying the celebration style of their favorite footballers" - Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar condemned bowlers for performing over-the-top celebrations after dismissing opposition batters even after receiving a pounding before the wicket. Gavaskar also called on the Indian players to have unique celebrations and not just copy the ones of their favorite footballers.

"Now of course, there’s coverage of the various football leagues all over the world and the cricketers are copying the celebration style of their favourite footballers. Only the Caribbean cricketers bring their own unique celebrations and that’s what the Indians should also look to do," wrote Gavaskar.

He concluded:

"Celebrating a wicket when it is a top batter or if the bowler has bowled a real beauty of a delivery is understandable, but if the bowler has been clobbered for couple of sixes and fours in the earlier few deliveries and then celebrates getting a wicket in a tournament where batters are always taking risks is laughable."

Meanwhile, the 2025 IPL season is nearing its halfway point of the league stage, with most teams having played five or six games.