Afghanistan cricketer Mohammad Shahzad has been reprimanded by match officials after being spotted smoking at the Shere Bangla National Stadium on Friday (February 4). He smoked while waiting for the game between Minister Dhaka and Comilla Victorians, affected by rain, to begin.

The picture of Shahzad went viral on social media and his action was found to be in breach of Article 2.20 of the BCB code of conduct, which pertains to "conduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game", and hence a demerit point was added to his disciplinary record.

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The 35-year-old was seen standing alongside Karim Janat and Fazalhaq Farooqi in the picture doing rounds on social media. Farooqi is Shahzad’s teammate in the Minister Dhaka team, while Janat plays for Comilla.

Reports say Dhaka coach Mizanur Rahman had warned Shahzad of his act while senior batsman Tamim Iqbal had asked him to go inside the dressing room.

But it was too late as the Afghanistan cricketer got clicked during the act. According to a press release from BCB, Shahzad admitted to the offense and accepted the sanction.

BCB’s chief match referee Rokibul Hasan slammed Shahzad for smoking and said it is prohibited inside the ground. “It contradicts the code of conduct. Smoking on the ground is strictly prohibited. It’s unacceptable. If he [Shahzad] is not aware of this, the match officials should warn him,” Hasan was quoted as saying by Business Standard.