Watch: Batsman headbutts rival during India cricket final

One of the captains in India’s prestigious Ranji Trophy is facing a fine for headbutting an opponent on the pitch.

Paras Dogra, the 41-year-old captain of Jammu and Kashmir, became involved in a physical altercation with substitute fielder KV Aneesh on the second day of the showpiece first-class final against Karnataka.

Facing the India paceman Prasidh Krishna in the 101st over of his team’s innings, Dogra uncomfortably guided past gully for a boundary on his way to 75.

Having punched gloves with his batting partner, Dogra appeared to take issue with something said by Karnataka’s Aneesh, who was posted at silly point. Having exchanged words, Dogra gently headbutted Aneesh. Both men were wearing helmets, so their grilles made contact. Aneesh appeared baffled, as his team-mates remonstrated with the umpires, who were attempting to defuse the situation.

Dogra later apologised, but a report on Cricbuzz said he would be fined 50 per cent of his match fee for the incident. Speaking about it later, the veteran said: “It’s not a big deal, it happened in the heat of the moment. A bit of these exchanges keep going on, especially when you’re playing the final. We diffused the situation right there. After that he started chatting again.”

His batting partner Kanhaiya Wadhawan described the incident as “part of the game”.

The Ranji Trophy is India’s premier first-class competition. It is almost 100 years old and is contested by 38 teams representing states and territories. Dogra is one of only two batsmen to score 10,000 runs in the competition.

Dogra’s team, Jammu and Kashmir, have never won the Ranji Trophy but have assumed a commanding position in the match on a benign pitch in Hubballi. They reached stumps on day two on 527 for six.

Karnataka, the home team, have a star-studded side, including India Test players Krishna, KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Devdutt Padikkal and Karun Nair.

Click here to read article