LSG spinner Digvesh Rathi had a stellar debut season in the IPL, but his wild celebrations earned him more fame than his wicket-taking ability. This resulted in the spinner being suspended for one match and despite all warnings from captain Rishabh Pant, he refused to dial down.
Digvesh Rathi took wickets last season; However, he received more recognition for his wild celebrations on the field. The biggest heated argument came against Abhishek Sharma, when he gave him a rousing farewell with a notebook celebration, which was followed by a massive exchange of words.
“No one can stop me from celebrating” – Digvesh Rathi
LSG spinner Digvesh Rathi will once again take the field in the IPL 2026 edition, and a promising season will be highly expected from him, after a successful debut season when he took 14 wickets, and emerged as LSG’s premier spinner.
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The 26-year-old cricketer has no plans to stop his Notebook Utsav or any celebratory activity. He was suspended three times in the last season of the IPL; However, this did not deter him.
“I neither intended to insult anyone then nor do I want to do so now. But no one can stop me from celebrating. If a batsman can celebrate by placing his helmet over the bat after scoring a century, I can also celebrate,” Rathi told ESPNcricinfo.
Rishabh Pant and LSG management have backed spinner Digvesh Rathi
There have not been much changes in Rathi’s plans as he has the support of his coach Justin Langer and captain Rishabh Pant. However, the message from these two seems to be quite clear that they should not be banned in any way.
“The only thing Rishabh bhai and the management have said to me is ‘Be your most authentic self, but don’t get restricted,'” Rathi said.
Talking about his previous performance in IPL, he was fined 25 percent of his match fee when he played in IPL for the first time. Then, the penalty was increased to 50 percent, and that didn’t stop him, as for the third time he was being fined another 50 percent of his match fee.
According to IPL rules, four demerit points equal one suspension point, meaning players must sit out for one game. He was booked under Article 2.5 of the IPL Code of Conduct and 5 demerit points were raised.
Digvesh Rathi to meet Nitish Rana in LSG’s IPL opener
Digvesh Rathi has been warned by the Lucknow Super Giants management as well as captain Rishabh Pant, who is well aware of the importance of Digvesh Rathi in the LSG team. The main reason behind this is that the demerit marks of a person are recorded for the next 36 months.
With something already happening, Rathi will have to be careful this season. A total of eight demerit points will result in a two-match suspension, while a total of 11 demerit points will result in a three-match suspension.
In the upcoming game for the Super Giants, the Delhi spinner will face another Delhi Capitals batsman, Nitish Rana. The two almost clashed during the last season of the Delhi Premier League and the umpires had to separate them.
Also read: Australian coach drops big hint on Cameron Green’s Test future amid IPL 2026 drama
