Ahmedabad, June 1 (IANS) Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) big-hitting batter Tim David has been fined 50 per cent of his match fee and will miss the opening game of the 2027 Indian Premier League (IPL) season after collecting two demerit points for a Level 1 Code of Conduct breach during the five-wicket win over Gujarat Titans in the 2026 final at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

David, who hit 24 off 17 balls in the final, was found guilty of breaching Article 2.9 of the Code of Conduct, which relates to “throwing a ball (or any other item of cricket equipment such as a water bottle) at or near a Player, Team Official, Umpire, Match Referee or any other third person in an inappropriate and/or dangerous manner during a Match.”

The incident occurred in the 10th over of the first innings when, following the fall of a wicket, David threw an ice bag aggressively in the direction of on‑field umpire Nitin Menon. The Match Referee, former India pacer Javagal Srinath, imposed the sanction after David admitted to the offence and accepted the punishment.

This was David’s third Level 1 offence of the season. He had earlier committed breaches in Match 20, for which he was docked one demerit point, and in Match 54, which resulted in two demerit points. With the latest sanction, David has now accumulated five demerit points in total.

As per the IPL’s Code of Conduct regulations, accumulation of five demerit points triggers a one‑match suspension. Accordingly, David, who made 305 runs in 16 games this season, will miss RCB’s opening fixture of the next IPL season or, if he represents another franchise in the first game of IPL 2027.

RCB defeated Gujarat Titans by five wickets in the final to secure their second consecutive title, but David’s suspension means the franchise will begin their title defence next year without one of their experienced finishers.

The win in Ahmedabad saw RCB become only the third team in IPL history to successfully defend their crown after Chennai Super Kings (2010-11) and Mumbai Indians (2019-20). Overall, RCB are now the fourth franchise with multiple titles, alongside MI and CSK, who have five each, and Kolkata Knight Riders, who have three wins.

Rajat Patidar added himself to the record books by becoming the first captain to win the IPL in each of his first two seasons. He is only the third skipper to secure back‑to‑back IPL triumphs after MS Dhoni (2010 and 2011) and Rohit Sharma (2019 and 2020).

–IANS

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