NEW DELHI, Nov 1: South African judge Albie Sachs will hear the appeal of India opener Gautam Gambhir against his one-Test match suspension for elbowing Australia bowler Shane Watson during the ongoing Test in New Delhi.

Sachs, a senior judge on the Constitutional Court of South Africa, has been appointed by the International Cricket Council (ICC), which said on Saturday that the details of the hearing would be determined in due course.

“The process indicates that the appeal should be heard within seven days of the commissioner being appointed,” the ICC statement said.

If Sachs hasn’t reached a verdict by Thursday’s start of the fourth and final Test in Nagpur, then Gambhir will be available to play.

Match referee Chris Broad found Gambhir guilty of not conducting play “within the spirit of the game as well as within the laws of cricket.”

Gambhir pleaded guilty after pushing his elbow into Watson’s chest while taking a second run during the 51st over of India’s first innings on Wednesday on the opening day of the New Delhi Test.

Under the ICC regulations, Sachs has “the power to increase, decrease, amend or otherwise substitute his own decision from that made at the previous hearing.”

Gambhir has no avenue of appeal if he is unsatisfied with the second ruling.

Watson was fined 10 percent of his match fee for breaching the “spirit of the game,” relating to his verbal confrontation with Gambhir during the incident.

Gambhir’s availability could prove crucial to the outcome of the series.

The left-hander has scored 427 runs at an average of 85.40 during the three Tests, including 206 in the first innings of the third Test when India made 613-7 declared.—AP