Dhoni blasts 'hurtful' Jadeja verdict

MSDhoni

Jadeja was fined 50 per cent of his match fee after being found guilty of a level one offence on Friday following an altercation with England seamer Anderson at lunch on the second day of the opening Test at Trent Bridge.

The all-rounder was found not guilty of a level two infraction, while Anderson - accused of "abusing and pushing" Jadeja - faces a disciplinary hearing next Friday after being hit with a level three charge.

But Dhoni has evidently been angered by the ruling, describing the International Cricket Council's (ICC) verdict as "hurtful".

"To me, it is a very hurtful decision. A lot of things were neglected in judging the case," Dhoni said in quotes reported by ESPN Cricinfo.

"If you see what exactly happened, the umpires called for lunch and we started walking. I don't want to take any other individual's name. We started walking, and the other individual started using foul language against Jadeja.

"I had to step in the middle. And by the time we reached the ropes I thought the thing has diffused.

"By the time we were going through the members' area I was ahead of Jadeja. Jadeja was a couple of yards behind me. Again something happened. Something was told to him. And he just turned across to the individual, and after that he was pushed. And he barely gained his balance, and he turned to see as to what is happening. And on the basis of that he is fined.

"It was said that it was against the spirit of the game, and everything. What we have to see is, we can't ignore what has happened.

"If someone is saying something to you from behind and you just turn and you look, that is not aggressive. Especially the fact that the bat was under his armpit throughout - right from lunch till he entered the dressing room. Not one word was spoken by him."

Under ICC law there is no provision for an appeal against a first guilty verdict for a level one offence but, according to Dhoni, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) are exploring their options.

"That's the beauty of it," Dhoni added.

"Allegation is of level two, and Jadeja gets punished under level one. The beauty of level one is you cannot appeal against it. But BCCI and legal are working things out. We are definitely not at all happy with the verdict. I have dictated what the facts were."

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