Riyan Parag penalised after being caught vaping during PBKS vs RR match

During Rajasthan Royals (RR)'s IPL 2026 match against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in New Chandigarh on Tuesday, captain Riyan Parag was caught using a vape in the dressing room. He was fined 25% of his match fee and received one demerit point. A BCCI statement on Thursday stated that Parag "was found to have breached Article 2.21 of the IPL's Code of Conduct, which relates to conduct that brings the game into disrepute." The incident occurred while RR was chasing PBKS' 222 with four balls in their hands. Parag "admitted to the offence and accepted the sanction imposed by the match referee, Amit Sharma". The BCCI stated, "exploring other options to initiate proceedings for stringent action against the erring team, its officials, and player/s to ensure that the reputation of IPL remains intact," which is significant. The infringement on Parag's part came less than two weeks after RR team manager Romi Bhinder had been fined INR 1 lakh after being caught using his mobile phone in the team dugout during the game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on April 10 in Guwahati. Bhinder told the IPL's anti-corruption unit that the breach, in contravention of Article 4.1.1 of IPL players' and match officials' area protocols, was inadvertent. Bhinder offered an unreserved apology and admitted to the offense. A media release later said that Bhinder had been "warned to exercise greater care in the future and to adhere strictly to the established guidelines". The incident came to light when pictures of Bhinder on his phone with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi next to him were put up on social media after the match. The same was true for Parag, whose social media posts came shortly after the match against PBKS.