Digvesh Rathi returned figures of 3/25 in four overs against Outer Delhi Warriors on August 16 in the Delhi Premier League 2026. He was the best bowler for Purani Dilli 6 in a 21-run defeat. None of that made the post-match headlines.
Match referee Abhinav Bali fined Rathi 30 percent of his match fees and handed him two demerit points for making a sign-off gesture towards an opposing batter twice during the game. The breach fell under Article 2.5 (Level 1) of the DPL Code of Conduct. Rathi admitted to the offence and accepted the sanction.
This is the fifth time Rathi has been fined for the same celebration across three different tournaments in 16 months.
Outer Delhi Warriors posted 219/5 after being put in to bat at Arun Jaitley Stadium. Openers Priyansh Arya (30 off 21 balls) and Yajas Sharma (86 off 36 balls) put on 120 for the first wicket inside nine overs.
Harsh Tyagi smashed 32 off 15 balls lower down, and Akshay Saini finished unbeaten on 49 off 23 to push the total past 200.
“I have worked a lot on my yorkers and slower balls throughout the year in Delhi to keep batters guessing. The most important thing was execution. I give equal importance to both my batting and bowling.”
Harsh Tyagi, post-match statement, August 17, 2026
Rathi was the only Purani Dilli 6 bowler who kept any control, conceding just 6.25 an over while taking three wickets. His team needed him with the ball. They got the celebration with it.
Chasing 220, Purani Dilli 6 reached 198/6. Aman Chaudhary’s 4/38 and Tyagi’s 3/22 ensured the Warriors defended the total with 21 runs to spare.
Digvesh Rathi adds Priyansh Arya’s name to his wicket-taking list ✍️#TATAIPL | #LSGvPBKS | @LucknowIPL pic.twitter.com/64I6EBdElp
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 1, 2025
Insider Read
Five fines. Three tournaments. Sixteen months. The notebook celebration has survived every sanction cricket authorities have thrown at it.
| Tournament | Date | Against | Fine | Demerit Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IPL 2025 | April 1 | Priyansh Arya (PBKS) | 25% match fee | 1 |
| IPL 2025 | April 4 | Naman Dhir (MI) | 50% match fee | 2 |
| IPL 2025 | May 20 | Abhishek Sharma (SRH) | 50% match fee + 1 match ban | 2 |
| DPL 2025 | Eliminator | Nitish Rana (WDL) | 80% match fee | N/A |
| DPL 2026 | August 16 | Sign-off gesture x2 | 30% match fee | 2 |
Bowlers who play the game at the highest level understand something about aggression that match referees never will. It is not a switch you flip on and off between deliveries. A leg spinner operating in the middle overs of a T20 lives on intimidation. The carrom ball, the googly, the stump-to-stump line: none of it works if the batter believes the bowler is passive. Rathi’s celebration is not separate from his bowling. It is the outward expression of the same competitive energy that makes him dangerous.
The fines have escalated, a one-match ban has been served, and the notebook still comes out. That tells you Rathi has already done the maths. The cost of the celebration is smaller than the cost of suppressing the instinct that drives it. Every bowler who has operated in high-pressure T20 cricket understands that calculation, even if they would not make the same choice.
Rathi and Arya are not rivals in the way the celebration suggests. They are close friends and Delhi teammates who play for different franchises in the IPL. Rathi revealed in April 2025 that the original notebook sendoff against Arya was the result of a pre-agreed pact between the two.
This was the second time in DPL 2026 that Rathi bowled against Arya’s Outer Delhi Warriors. In their first meeting on August 10, Purani Dilli 6 won by seven wickets. Arya scored 46 off 19 balls in that game, and Rathi took 2/21. Six days later, the result flipped. Arya contributed 30 in a 120-run opening stand, and Rathi took 3/25 in a losing cause.
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What Rathi Has Said About the Celebration
No quote from Rathi exists about the August 16 incident specifically. But his position has been consistent since before IPL 2026 began.
Speaking to ESPNcricinfo in March 2026, Rathi confirmed that LSG captain Rishabh Pant and the franchise management backed his right to celebrate, with one condition: do not get banned. Rathi has also argued publicly that bowlers deserve the same freedom batters get when they celebrate milestones.
After the first notebook sendoff against Arya in IPL 2025, Rathi explained on Sports Tak that the gesture was part of a friendly bet. He accepted every fine without appeal, acknowledged the rules, and repeated the celebration in the next match anyway.
The DPL 2026 fine is the latest entry in a ledger that Rathi has no intention of closing.
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