A tense moment unfolded during the Champions Trophy 2025 semi-final between India and Australia on Thursday when umpire Richard Illingworth halted Ravindra Jadeja mid-stride and asked him to remove taping on his hand.
The incident occurred in the 19th over as Jadeja prepared to bowl. Illingworth noticed the taping and insisted that the all-rounder take it off. Jadeja, who appeared to be nursing an injury, explained the need for the tape but eventually complied. Cameras later showed his fingers were visibly injured, with blood stains noticeable.
According to International Cricket Council rules, fielders cannot wear gloves or external leg guards, and hand or finger protection is allowed only with umpire consent. The rules are stricter for bowlers wearing tape on their bowling hand, as it may affect visibility for batters in white-ball cricket. However, exceptions are made for injuries suffered during the match.
Jadeja was allowed to wear the tape in the next over after he hurt his hand while diving to stop a shot from Steve Smith in the 19th over.
Jadeja played a key role in India's bowling attack. He broke a crucial 56-run partnership between Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith by dismissing Labuschagne in the 23rd over. He then removed Josh Inglis in the 26th over.
Steve Smith won the toss and chose to bat first. Rohit Sharma’s struggle with the toss continued as he lost for the fourth time in this tournament and 14th time in a row across formats.
India Playing XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy.
Australia Playing XI: Cooper Connolly, Travis Head, Steven Smith (c), Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis (wk), Alex Carey, Glenn Maxwell, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Tanveer Sangha.
