Former India opener Virender Sehwag blamed the BCCI for treating different players differently in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as far as punishments for breach of the Code of Conduct were concerned.

Sehwag's observation came after Lucknow Super Giants leg-spinner Digvesh Singh Rathi was suspended for a match for his on-field scuffle with Abhishek Sharma during LSG's match against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Abhishek was slapped with a fine and demerit points

Sehwag said Digvesh's ban was harsh, as there have been past instances in the IPL involving big names like MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli, but the BCCI never suspended them.

"I thought that the ban was a bit harsh. The boy is playing in his first year in the IPL. MS Dhoni had barged into the ground, he was not banned then. Virat Kohli has spoken to umpires in that tone, who knows how many times, he was also not banned. So, Digvesh Rathi could have been spared, because he is a young player, just coming into the scene, could have let that one go," Sehwag said, speaking on Cricbuzz.

In an IPL 2019 match between Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings, MS Dhoni entered the ground during CSK's chase to argue with the on-field umpires over a controversial no-ball call. The CSK captain got away with a fine on 50% fine on his match fees.

Kohli, who has been involved in quite a few on-field arguments throughout the 18 years of IPL, was never suspended.

Why Digvesh Rathi was banned and Dhoni, Kohli got away

Sehwag, however, missed one crucial point. Digvesh Rathi was not suspended because of that one incident with Abhishek Sharma. The LSG leg-spinner had already accumulated three demerit points for earlier Code of Conduct breaches that were deemed as Level 1 offences, mainly due to his over-the-top tick-the-notebook celebrations after dismissing opposition batters. The on-field scuffle with Abhishek Sharma, which was once sparked because of his notebook celebration, was Digvesh's third offence of the season, which took his total demerit points tally this season to five.

"This was his third Level 1 offence under Article 2.5 this season and hence, he has accumulated two Demerit Points, in addition to three Demerit Points he had accumulated earlier - One Demerit Point against Punjab Kings on April 01, 2025 and two Demerit Points against Mumbai Indians on April 04, 2025. As he now has Five Demerit Points this season - which result in a one-game suspension - Digvesh will now be suspended for LSG's next game - against Gujarat Titans on May 22, 2025 in Ahmedabad," BCCI said.

Whereas in Dhoni and Kohli's case, their demerit points tally never reached five for the BCCI to officially suspend them.