“I request all stakeholders to respect the process which remains ongoing and remind them of their duties to the integrity of the process and the sport”

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International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive David Richardson has warned India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and England skipper Alastair Cook to stop undermining the “ICC disciplinary process”.

Richardson’s comments come after Dhoni stated that all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja being fined 50 per cent of his match fee was a “hurtful verdict”.

Cook meanwhile said that India were exaggerating the seriousness of the altercation between Jadeja and James Anderson in an attempt to get the England pace bowler banned for the rest of the ongoing Test series.

“England captain Alastair Cook and, more recently, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni have made public comments relating to the alleged incident that took place during the first Test at Trent Bridge, the latter of which is critical of and undermines the ICC disciplinary process,” Richardson said on Sunday. “The ICC would also like to reiterate its full support of the process followed and respect for the decision made by David Boon. ICC Code of Conduct hearings of this nature are, generally speaking, difficult processes to work through, with detailed legal submissions, witness statements and oral witness testimony. We are satisfied that Mr Boon carefully and comprehensively considered the evidence and submissions presented to him at the hearing, which included conflicting evidence from both sides, prior to making his decision.

“In legal matters such as this, the ICC takes extremely seriously its duty as administrators of the game. Therefore, I request all stakeholders to respect the process which remains ongoing and remind them of their duties to the integrity of the process and the sport so that we can focus on the game of cricket itself.”