Bad habits are easy to pick. So in sports as in life.
Young Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) spinner Digvesh Rathi is a case in point. In the Tuesday night encounter against PBKS in the ongoing IPL 2025, the leg-spinner with the Sunil Narine-like bowling action brought out the 'notebook celebration' after dismissing Punjab's opener Priyansh Arya.
It was less a celebration, more a disrespectful taunt. It was made famous by West Indies bowler Kesrick Williams. In Jamaica in 2017, Williams dismissed Kohli and celebrated it as if writing Kohli's name in an imaginary notebook and crossing it off. Kohli didn't forget this gesture, and when the West Indies toured India in 2019, he responded in kind. During a T20I match in Hyderabad, Kohli smashed Williams for a six and imitated the notebook celebration.
Priyansh Arya is no Kohli for Rathi to get all excited. If anything, the two are teammates --- both play for South Delhi Superstarz --- in the Delhi T20 league. Yet, Rathi pulled off this celebratory stunt, much to the annoyance of all concerned. Rathi's theatrics was called out by that headmaster Sunil Gavaskar in commentary as being totally unnecessary. The on-field umpire too had a word with Rathi immediately after the unsavoury incident.
And immediately after the match, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) also came down on Rathi for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct. Rathi has been fined 25 per cent of his match fees and slapped with one demerit point for his petulant show against Arya. On a night when he picked up both the two wickets of Punjab to fall ( 2 for 30 off four overs was his spell), this punishment must be chastening.
The IPL, to be sure, provides a platform for young cricketers to parade their prowess. But it also, unwittingly, ends up as a pulpit where high-strung youthful players make a fool of themselves.
Rathi, after the dressing down from the commentators and the fine from the BCCI, should be wiser next time around. He should not spoil, well, copybook behaviour with copybook gestures.