DHAKA: Pakistan fast bowler Shaheen Afridi has been fined and given a demerit point by International Cricket Council (ICC) for throwing ball at Bangladesh batter Afif Hussain during the second T20I in Dhaka on Saturday.
The incident occurred in the third over of Bangladesh’s innings, when the Pakistan pacer knocked down Bangladesh’s left-handed batter Atif Hosain as he fielded the ball on his follow through and threw it at Hossain, hitting him on the foot.
Ouch????#BANvPAKpic.twitter.com/COGc1fCsaO
— CricTracker (@Cricketracker) November 20, 2021
The batsman was within the crease and not apparently intending to take a run when the bill hit him. Afridi then immediately rushed to Hossain to inquire about him, who hadn’t received any serious injury.
A statement issued by the ICC said that the charges against Afridi were levelled by on-field umpires Gazi Sohel and Sohail Tanveer, third umpire Masudur Rahman, and fourth official Sharfudoulla Ibne Shahid.
According to the statement, Afridi was found to have breached Article 2.9 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, pertaining to “throwing a ball (or any other item of cricket equipment such as a water bottle) at or near a Player, Player Support Personnel, Umpire, Match Referee or any other third person in an inappropriate and/or dangerous manner during an International Match.”
Apart from the penalty, one demerit point has been added to the disciplinary record of the player, for whom it was the first offence in a 24-month period, the statement read. It further stated that Afridi admitted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by match referee Neeyamur Rashid.
Afridi later apologised to Hossain after Pakistan’s win over Bangladesh in the second T20I. The Pakistan Cricket Board released a video of Shaheen walking up to Hussain after the match and apologising to him for the action and also hugging him with a smile.
Shaheen Shah Afridi went up to Afif Hossain post-match ???????? #SpiritofCricket pic.twitter.com/F1dO6F8gn0
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) November 20, 2021
A day earlier, pacer Hasan Ali was reprimanded for violating Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct during Pakistan’s first Twenty20 against Bangladesh in Dhaka on Friday.
The incident had occurred in the 17th over of Bangladesh’s innings, when Ali made an inappropriate gesture towards batter Nurul Hasan after dismissing him, the ICC’s statement had said.
