Riyan Parag welcomes unnecessary controversy after the Rajasthan Royals captain was caught vaping in the dressing room during their Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Punjab Kings in New Chandigarh on Tuesday. The video instantly went viral on social media.
The incident took place in the 16th over of Rajasthan Royals’ chase of 223. While the Rajasthan-based franchise won the game, the celebrations were marred once a video emerged where Parag was caught on camera casually vaping in front of his teammates Dhruv Jurel and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
While no one from the BCCI or Rajasthan Royals has yet commented on the matter, Parag faces a jail term of up to one year or a fine of Rs. ₹1 lakh for first time offenders under the Act.
But Parag is not the first cricketer to be caught vaping during an IPL match. In IPL 2020, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) opener Aaron Finch was also caught vaping in a viral video. During this match, the video was captured during the final over of RCB’s chase of 178 at the Dubai International Stadium. Dubai hosted IPL 2020 due to COVID-19.
In the video, former Australian captain and the only one to lead the national team to the T20 World Cup title in 2021, Finch was seen exhaling smoke and puffing again before the broadcaster returned to live coverage. The left-arm then RCB spinner Shahbaz Ahmed was pictured alongside Finch in this video. Shahbaz currently plays for Lucknow Super Giants.
It should be noted that vaping is legal in Dubai, but under strict regulations. One cannot vape in public indoor spaces, shopping centers and public transport.
What do the laws in India say about vaping?
According to the Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act (PECA) 2019, “no person shall directly or indirectly (i) manufacture or manufacture or import or export or transport or sell or distribute electronic cigarettes, whether as a complete product or any part thereof; and (ii) advertise electronic cigarettes or participate in any advertisement that directly or indirectly promotes the use of electronic cigarettes.”
“…no person who is the owner or user of or who controls or uses any place shall knowingly permit it to be used for the storage of any supply of electronic cigarettes.” Vaping is another name for electronic cigarettes.
The question of privacy in the dressing room was raised
According to PTI, the issue of players’ privacy in the dressing room was raised during a captains’ meeting held in Mumbai ahead of the start of IPL 2026. The news agency said some of the captains objected to cameras moving inside the dressing room during the live broadcast of the match.
“It wasn’t specifically related to the use of e-cigarettes in the dressing room. It was basically about the privacy of their players. There are times when players are not fully clothed in the dressing room or maybe they want to avoid the cameras,” an IPL source told the news agency.
“They were told that the broadcaster and not the BCCI decide on the cameras showing the broadcast from the dressing room. After this incident, hopefully it can be reviewed. However, it was careless from Parag and it is difficult to defend something like this. An elite athlete caught smoking like this does not set a good example for the public,” the source added.
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