Riyan Parag fined 25% match fee and given a demerit point for vaping in the Rajasthan dressing room
Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag has been fined 25 per cent of his match fee and given one demerit point after the IPL match referee found him guilty of breaching Article 2.21 of the league's Code of Conduct, the clause covering conduct that brings the game into disrepute. The penalty follows a broadcast camera catching Parag using a vape inside the Rajasthan dressing room during Tuesday's match against Punjab Kings at Mullanpur.
The visuals went around social media within minutes of the broadcast cutaway, and on-field umpires reported the incident to match referee Amit Sharma after the game. Parag admitted the offence and accepted the sanction without contesting it.
What Article 2.21 covers
Article 2.21 covers conduct that does not fit any more specific Code of Conduct clause but is judged to bring the game into disrepute. The penalty range is a fine plus demerit points, both of which Parag has now picked up. Demerit points carry across IPL seasons and trigger automatic suspensions once a player crosses set thresholds, so the single point is more than a paper note.
The financial hit is real too. Parag is on a 14-crore retainer for IPL 2026, and the 25 per cent match-fee fine works out at roughly 25 lakh, the figure several outlets have used for the headline number.
BCCI signals it is not done
The match referee's order is the procedural part. The BCCI's accompanying statement was the more pointed line, with the board saying it was "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." Translation: the franchise itself, plus any team officials who allowed a vape inside the dressing room, are now in the picture too, not just Parag.
That extension is unusual. Code of Conduct sanctions in the IPL have, historically, tended to begin and end with the match referee's report. The board pulling the franchise into the same sentence as the player suggests Rajasthan have been asked to explain how a vape ended up inside the team's working area during a live match. RR have not put out a public response so far.
A bad week for the captain
For Parag personally, the timing is awkward. Tuesday's six-wicket chase of Punjab's 222, which Rajasthan got home with four balls to spare thanks to a Sooryavanshi, Ferreira and Dubey assault, was supposed to be the moment his captaincy calls started looking sharper after a one-from-four run going into the game. The team had just handed Punjab their first defeat of the IPL 2026 season.
Instead the headline out of Mullanpur is about the dressing room, not the chase. Parag himself scored 29 off 16 balls before being dismissed, then went back inside, where the cutaway found him.
What happens next
The 25 per cent fine and the demerit point are final and non-appealable now that Parag has admitted the offence. The "further action" the BCCI flagged has no published timeline. Until something concrete emerges, Parag carries his demerit point and Rajasthan keep chasing a top-four finish.
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