NEW DELHI: India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah was reprimanded by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday for “inappropriate physical contact” with England’s Ollie Pope during the home team’s 28-run Test defeat this weekend.

The incident occurred during England’s second innings when Bumrah, after bowling and completing his follow-through, “deliberately stepped in Ollie Pope’s way as the batter went for a run, leading to inappropriate physical contact”, the ICC said in a statement.

Pope’s match-winning 196 handed India only their fourth loss in their last 47 Tests at home since 2013 but the hosts still remain favourites in the five-match series after losing the first Test.

Bumrah had been reprimanded for breaching the ICC code and had “admitted the offence and acce­pted the sanction” with one demerit point added to his disciplinary record, cricket’s apex body said.

The ICC code relates to “inappropriate physical contact” with a player, umpire, spectator or any other person during a match.

These breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand, a maximum penalty of 50 percent of a player’s match fee, and one or two demerit points.

Bumrah, who finished the game with six wickets in the match, is considered one of the few all-format new ball bowlers in the modern game.

The rare home Test defeat came as a shock for Rohit Sharma’s team, which led for much of the first three days.

England’s fearless “Bazball” brand of play devised by coach Brendon McCullum and skipper Ben Stokes has brought the team 14 victories in 19 Tests.

Published in Dawn, January 30th, 2024