From champion to suspension: RCB star faces ban!

• RCB batter Tim David fined 50% of match fee for umpire misconduct
• He threw an ice bag at umpire Nitin Menon during the IPL 2026 final
• David will miss RCB's first game of the 2027 IPL season

Tim David, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batter, has been fined 50 per cent of his match fee and accumulated two demerit points for breaching Level

1 of the ICC Code of Conduct during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 final against the Gujarat Titans (GT) on Sunday, May 31.

The right-handed batter was charged for throwing an ice bag aggressively at on-field umpire Nitin Menon during the 10th over of the first innings when the Titans were batting. To be precise, the incident happened after the fall of a wicket (Washington Sundar getting caught by Jordan Cox, but it was later ruled not out).

David was found to have breached Article 2.9 of the IPL's Code of Conduct, which relates to "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."

After collecting five demerit points in the recently-concluded IPL season, the Australian batter will not be able to play RCB's first game of the next IPL season or the first game of the franchise he represents in IPL 2027. After his stellar contributions during the last two seasons for RCB, it is highly unlikely that he would play for any other franchise last season.

This was David's third Level 1 offence of the season, having committed his first offence in Match 20 (one Demerit Point) and his second offence in Match 54 (two Demerit Points). David admitted to the offence and accepted the sanction imposed by veteran Match Referee, Javagal Srinath.

How did Tim David fare in IPL 2026?

Tim David had a memorable time during the season. While he didn't face too many deliveries (only 162 in 15 innings), he managed to make an impact more often than not when he walked out to bat.

During the season, he smashed 305 runs at an average of 33.89 and a strike rate of 188.28. His solitary half-century in IPL 2026 came against the Chennai Super Kings at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. He amassed 70 not out off just 25 balls. Even in the final, he forged a crucial 41-run stand with Virat Kohli, orchestrating a five-wicket win for the Rajat Patidar-led franchise.