ICC punishes Shahzad, Taylor and Rahman
dubai — Wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Shahzad has been suspended for Afghanistan’s upcoming two matches in the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018 after his accumulated demerit points reached four within a 24-month period following his latest breach of the ICC Code of Conduct for which he received a 15 per cent fine and one demerit point*.
During a thrilling match against Zimbabwe at the Bulawayo Athletic Club on Tuesday, Shahzad was found guilty of breaching Article 2.1.8, which relates to “abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fittings during an international match”.
As Shahzad had been fined 100 per cent of his match fee and handed three demerit points in a Twenty20 International against the UAE at the Dubai International Stadium on 12 December 2016, the addition of this one demerit point took him to the threshold of four demerit points, which, pursuant to article 7.6 of the Code, have now been converted into two suspension points. Consequently, Shahzad will now miss Afghanistan’s matches against Hong Kong and Nepal, which will be played in Bulawayo on 8 and 10 March, respectively.
Meanwhile, Brendan Taylor of Zimbabwe and Afghanistan’s 16-year-old Mujeeb Rahman have also been sanctioned for separate incidents during the match. Taylor was found to have breached Article 2.1.5, which deals with “showing dissent at an umpire’s decision during an international match”, while Mujeeb was found guilty of breaching Article 2.2.8, which relates 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.