The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Saturday (February 24) imposed a two-match ban on newly-appointed Sri Lankan T20I captain, Wanindu Hasaranga, for verbally abusing an umpire during the third T20I against Afghanistan in Dambulla on Wednesday (February 21).

Hasaranga confronted on-field umpire Lyndon Hannibal after the match, expressing dissatisfaction for his failure to call a no-ball when a Wafadar Momand delivery soared well above the waist height of Sri Lankan batter Kamindu Mendis.

In a statement, the ICC mentioned that the incident had breached its code of conduct regarding "personal abuse."

Hasaranga had accumulated sufficient demerit points over the past two years, leading to the imposition of a two-match ban and a fine equivalent to 50 percent of his match fee.

"Hasaranga stands suspended from Sri Lanka's first two T20Is against Bangladesh next month," the statement said.

Hannibal, who was standing at square leg, failed to signal a no-ball in the final over of the match with Sri Lanka needing 11 runs off the last three balls to inflict a series whitewash over Afghanistan.

After the game, Hasaranga vented out his frustration, though he didn’t mention the name of the umpire.

"That kind of thing shouldn't happen in an international match. If it had been close [to waist height], that's not a problem. But a ball that's going so high... it would have hit the batsman's head if it had gone a little higher," Hasaranga said of the incident as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

"If you can't see that, that umpire isn't suited to international cricket. It would be much better if he did another job," he added.

Sri Lanka went on to lose the third T20I by three runs but clinched the series 2-1 on the back of victories in the first two games.

The ICC also penalized Afghanistan's Rahmanullah Gurbaz 15 percent of his fee for disobeying umpire instructions in the third T20I.

"The sanction was imposed on Rahmanullah for changing the grip of his bat on the field of play despite being repeatedly warned not to do so," the statement said.

It added that both Hasaranga and Gurbaz had "admitted the offences and accepted the sanctions".

(With AFP Inputs)