Riyan Parag was caught on camera using a vape device inside the Rajasthan Royals dressing room during the IPL 2026 match against Punjab Kings in Mullanpur on April 28. The video went viral within hours, sparked a fierce debate about player conduct, and prompted a BCCI response. And yet, when the dust settled, Parag walked away with a 25% match fee fine, one demerit point, and his captaincy intact. He played the very next match \u2014 tonight against Delhi Capitals in Jaipur.<\/p>\n
The question everyone is asking: vaping is literally illegal in India. Why wasn\u2019t he banned?<\/p>\n
What the law says \u2014 and what the IPL code says<\/strong><\/p>\n Under the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act (PECA) 2019, vaping is illegal in India. The law prohibits the production, sale, and distribution of e-cigarettes, with violations carrying penalties including imprisonment of up to one year or monetary fines.<\/p>\n But the IPL is not a law enforcement body. The BCCI\u2019s jurisdiction over Parag is defined by the IPL Code of Conduct \u2014 a contractual framework that governs player behaviour during IPL events. These are two entirely separate systems. Parag was found to have breached Article 2.21 of the IPL\u2019s Code of Conduct, which relates to conduct that brings the game into disrepute \u2014 a Level 1 offence. Under the Code\u2019s graduated sanctions framework, a Level 1 breach attracts a fine of between 25% and 100% of match fee and one demerit point \u2014 not a suspension.<\/p>\n A ban would only apply from the outset if the offence were classified at Level 2, 3 or 4 \u2014 categories reserved for more serious violations such as physical assault, abuse of officials, or corruption-related misconduct. Vaping in the dressing room, while embarrassing and illegal under Indian law, does not meet that threshold under the current Code of Conduct framework.<\/p>\n Why the umpires did not act immediately<\/strong><\/p>\n On-field umpires initially did not report the matter. However, after reviewing visual evidence \u2014 the footage had gone viral on social media \u2014 they escalated it to match referee Amit Sharma, who found Parag guilty of the Level 1 offence. Parag admitted to the offence and accepted the sanction, which is the standard procedure for a Level 1 breach and eliminates the need for a formal hearing.<\/p>\n What BCCI said \u2014 and what it means<\/strong><\/p>\n The BCCI\u2019s statement was carefully worded and notably left the door open for further action. The board said it was \u201cexploring 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.\u201d That language suggests the BCCI considers the matter not entirely closed \u2014 and that additional disciplinary action, potentially against the franchise and team management for allowing the situation to occur, remains possible.<\/p>\n IPL and BCCI officials reportedly view the incident as avoidable, especially given the constant scrutiny of players under broadcast cameras and social media coverage. The optics of an IPL captain \u2014 one of the league\u2019s most visible young stars \u2014 openly vaping during a live match, with illegal equipment, are damaging regardless of what the Code technically permits.<\/p>\n The demerit point \u2014 the slow-burn consequence<\/strong><\/p>\n The one demerit point handed to Parag matters more than it sounds. Under IPL rules, four demerit points accumulated within 24 months automatically convert to a one-match suspension. Parag now carries one point on his record. Any further Code of Conduct breach this season or next could bring him closer to a ban \u2014 making the fine not just a penalty but a formal warning that his conduct is now on the record.<\/p>\n The broader context \u2014 a troubled season off the field for RR<\/strong><\/p>\n The vaping incident comes less than two weeks after RR team manager Romi Bhinder was fined Rs 1 lakh for using his mobile phone in the team dugout during the game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on April 10 in Guwahati \u2014 a breach of Article 4.1.1 of IPL players\u2019 and match officials\u2019 area protocols. Two Code of Conduct violations in a fortnight from the same franchise is not a good look, and the BCCI\u2019s pointed reference to the \u201cerring team\u201d in its statement suggests the Royals\u2019 management culture is under scrutiny beyond just Parag himself.<\/p>\n The short answer to why Parag wasn\u2019t banned: the IPL\u2019s own rules didn\u2019t require it for a first-time Level 1 offence. But the BCCI\u2019s language strongly hints that it wishes they did \u2014 and that the rulebook may be revisited before the next season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Riyan Parag was caught on camera using a vape device inside the Rajasthan Royals dressing room during the IPL 2026\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":250,"featured_media":51102,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"reading_time":"4 min read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51104","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/250"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51104"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51104\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51105,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51104\/revisions\/51105"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}