Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has expressed his disappointment with the International Cricket Council (ICC) and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) after Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal was handed only a lenient punishment for his aggressive confrontation with Sri Lanka pacer Asitha Fernando.

The incident occurred on Day 1 of the second Test in Galle, moments after Fernando ended Jaiswal’s promising stay at the crease. The Indian opener had struck three boundaries in the over before Fernando produced a delivery that beat his defence and crashed into his stumps. As Jaiswal began walking back, he turned around and approached Fernando, with his helmet touching Fernando’s forehead. Players from both sides quickly intervened to prevent the situation from escalating.

The ICC handed Jaiswal and Fernando one demerit point each and fined them 25 percent of their match fees. But Manjrekar believes a stricter stance was needed.

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“Dear @icc & @bcci… Vaibhav for India A recently & now Jaiswal… if you keep letting them get away with such behaviour, you train them to repeat such behaviour. It’s not good for the sport & crucially their own future too,” Manjrekar posted on X.

Dear @icc & @bcci…


Vaibhav for Ind A recently & now Jaiswal… if you keep letting them get away with such behaviour, you train them to repeat such behaviour. It’s not good for the sport & crucially their own future too. 🙏

— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) August 26, 2026

ICC also released a statement on the Jaiswal-Fernando incident. It reads, “Both players were found to have breached Article 2.12 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to “inappropriate physical contact with a Player, Player Support Personnel, Umpire, Match Referee or any other person (including a spectator during an International Match).” As a result, Jaiswal and Fernando were fined 25 per cent of their match fee and were handed one demerit point each,” said the ICC in its statement. It went on to state that both players didn’t have any previous offences in the preceding 24-month period.

Manjrekar also referenced a past incident involving 15-year-old prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. The teenager was involved in an ugly exchange with Sri Lanka A players after India A suffered a stinging Super Over defeat in the Tri-Nation A series in Dambulla. Following excessive celebrations from the Sri Lankan players, a dejected Sooryavanshi confronted them, engaged in a verbal spat, and shoved one of them before the Sri Lankan team stepped in to separate the players. Sooryavanshi escaped with a fine of 50 percent of his match fee.