Courtesy: Google
Afghanistan all-rounder Gulbadin Naib has been fined 15 per cent of his match fee by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for showing dissent to the umpire during the second T20I of the three-match series against Zimbabwe in Harare on Friday, December 13. Afghanistan defended Zimbabwe by 50 runs in a one-sided contest at the Harare Sports Club, to level the series at 1-1 with the decider happening currently at the same venue.
In the second T20I, Afghanistan scored 153/6 in their allotted overs after an exceptional fifty from Darwish Rasooli, scoring 58 runs off 42 balls with six fours and one sixes. During the 11th over of Zimbabwe’s run chase, when umpire rejected an lbw appeal made by Gulbadin Naib against Tashinga Musekiwa on captain Rashid Khan’s delivery, the all-rounder bowed in a mock prayer and seemed like requesting for a review despite no DRS available for the match.
Gulbadin Naib has been penalised for violating Article 2.8 of the ICC Code of Conduct: ICC
A day after Zimbabwe were bowled out for 103 runs with three-wicket hauls from Naveen-ul-Haq and Rashid Khan, losing the second T20I by a big margin, the ICC sent out a statement, wherein they fined Gulbadin Naib 15 per cent of his match fee along with adding one demerit point on his disciplinary record. “Naib has been penalised for violating Article 2.8 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which pertains to ‘showing dissent at an umpire's decision during an international match,’” remarked the cricket’s governing body.
ICC also stated that Gulbadin Naib admitted to the offense made in the second Zimbabwe versus Afghanistan T20I, and accepted the sanctions levelled by Match Referee Andy Pycroft. Notably, earlier this year, the Afghan cricketer had hit the headlines for his antics on the field during a T20 World Cup 2024 match in the Caribbean, in regards to wasting time by seemingly faking an injury, for which no such action was taken by the ICC.
