Royal Challengers Bengaluru batter Tim David is set to miss the opening fixture of IPL 2027 after being handed his third sanction of the ongoing season. The latest disciplinary action stems from an incident in the IPL 2026 final at Ahmedabad on Sunday, where David was penalised under the league’s Code of Conduct.
Incident in the IPL 2026 final
The incident took place in the 10th over of Gujarat Titans’ innings. The match moment came after a wicket fell, with Jordan Cox’s catch off Washington Sundar being ruled not out. Following that decision, David threw an ice bag aggressively toward umpire Nitin Menon.
The incident was cited as a breach of Article 2.9 of the IPL Code of Conduct, which covers “throwing a ball (or any other item of cricket equipment such as a water bottle) at or near a Player, Team Official, Umpire, Match Referee or any other third person in an inappropriate and/or dangerous manner during a Match.”
Admission, sanction and suspension
David admitted to the offence and accepted the sanction imposed by the Match Referee, Javagal Srinath. With this decision, David has reached his fifth demerit point(s) of the season.
As a result of accumulating those demerit points, he will serve a one-match ban—meaning he will be unavailable for RCB’s opening match of IPL 2027.
How the final played out
RCB ultimately secured the IPL 2026 final by five wickets. The win also marked the franchise’s second title, as they successfully defended the championship they won in 2025.
