Looking back on the incident during The Indian Express’ Idea Exchange, Rahane recalled: “I sensed the situation that at that point in time, things would probably go out of hand. Yes, probably Yashasvi must have felt bad that day, but then I have seen many situations where players have been banned. I sensed the situation and also I felt both the players were going out of hand. It was my responsibility to control my teammate. You respect the umpires, the officials who are on field, who are controlling the game. Everyone can make mistakes, but as a player, you have to be within your limits.”

“So, it was my instinct to send him off the field. As a player, I sensed that he might feel bad, but it was okay. At that point of time, it was a good thing for him. I told him to go inside, sit out for five to six overs, put some ice on his head and then return,” he added.

What neither Rahane nor Jaiswal knew at the time was that the match referee, Narayanan Kutty, had already prepared a four-match suspension for the youngster, which was rescinded because of Rahane’s timely intervention.

“Eventually, I got to know that the match referee was ready with a four-match ban. The letter was written. He came up to me and said ‘Here’s the letter, but since you did that (sending Yashasvi out), I am tearing this up.’ He tore up the letter in front of me. As a leader, you have to be aware of the situation. That’s your thing to do. So in the end, I was happy. He didn’t get any ban and now he’s playing for India. He’s a quality player. I’m not taking any credit away from him, but you never know what would have happened (if Jaiswal was banned),” Rahane, who recently announced his retirement from the game, revealed.