The Board of Control for Cricket in India handed a 30% match fee fine to Royal Challengers Bengaluru batter Tim David for an obscene gesture. After RCB registered a thrilling two-wicket win against Mumbai Indians at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, Raipur, David was seen making a ‘middle finger’ gesture with both hands.
David’s offence relates to “using a gesture that is obscene, offensive or insulting.” The hard-hitting batter admitted to the offence and accepted the sanction imposed by Match Referee Amit Sharma.
Meanwhile, it is not the first time that David has been involved in a controversy in the ongoing IPL 2026. Earlier, David was not happy with the shape of the ball, and when the on-field umpires asked him to hand them the ball, he kept checking the seam of the ball in the reverse fixture against Mumbai Indians.
Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra, who was on commentary at the time, weighed in on the incident. “As a batter, you aren’t allowed to do that. He cannot check the ball. And if the shape of the ball is a problem, it is because you hit it for a six,” he said.
After David repeatedly ballooned the ball, on-field umpire Virender Sharma gave him a stern warning. Thus, both of David’s controversial incidents have happened against Mumbai Indians.
Meanwhile, David has scored 234 runs in 11 innings of IPL 2026 at an average of 39 and a blistering strike rate of 193.38 and has done a fine job in adding the finishing touches for the defending champions. David was dismissed after scoring only two runs against Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday when he was caught brilliantly by Manish Pandey at backward point.
The Australian’s best knock in the ongoing season came when he smashed 70 runs off just 25 balls against Chennai Super Kings earlier in the season.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru are currently at the top of the IPL standings with eight wins and four losses after 12 matches. RCB will next take on Punjab Kings at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala, on Sunday.
