IPL 2025: Ahead of clash against RCB, Digvesh Rathi shares story behind his 'notebook' celebration
Digvesh Rathi has taken the most wickets for Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2025 with 14 scalps.
Lucknow Super Giants' (LSG) leg-spinner Digvesh Singh Rathi has not only come out to be the team's leading wicket-taker with 14 wickets in 12 games but also become a viral sensation for his unique “notebook” celebration, a gesture that has earned him both - attention and disciplinary action.
Rathi's viral "notebook" celebration, where he pretends to strike a name off an imaginary list after each dismissal, quickly became a hot topic in IPL 2025. While fans were entertained by the gesture, the match officials perceived it as confrontational or unsportsmanlike, which led to repeated breaches of the IPL’s Code of Conduct. Now, In a viral video, the 25-year-old finally broke the silence around the celebration’s origin.
"Start yeh hai ki, jab bhi koi tournament hota hai, main notebook leke jaata hoon. Aur usme sabke naam likhne hain mujhe (Thing how it started is, I carry a notebook every time there is a tournament to write everyone's names in it)," he said in a video posted by Lucknow Super Giants on their official social media channels.
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23Recently, during LSG's match against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rathi dismissed opener Abhishek Sharma and followed it with an aggressive send-off with his signature notebook gesture, leading to a heated verbal exchange with the batter that required umpire Michael Gough’s intervention.
As a result, the Delhi-born was handed a one-match suspension and fined 50 per cent of his match fee. He has now breached the IPL's Code of Conduct for a third time this season, and now has five demerit points under Article 2.5. Notably, the spinner has already been fined INR 9.37 lakh, nearly a third of his IPL salary, and was forced to miss the match against the Gujarat Titans as a result of a ban.
He was earlier penalised for similar gestures towards Priyansh Arya of Punjab Kings and Naman Dhir of Mumbai Indians. Despite repeated warnings and sanctions, the 25-year-old continued with his expressive send-offs. Meanwhile, the spinner is expected to be back in LSG's playing XI for the final league game of the season against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Tuesday, May 27.
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