Pakistan batter Asif Ali and Afghanistan fast bowler Fareed Ahmad have been fined 25% of their match fees for their on-field altercation during the Asia Cup 2022 Super Four match between Afghanistan and Pakistan on Wednesday (September 7) at Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
They were punished for a Level 1 breach of the ICC Code of Conduct in the Asia Cup 2022 fixture on Wednesday. Asif and Fareed both admitted their offense and accepted the sanctions proposed by match referee Andy Pycroft on Thursday (September 8).
One demerit point was also added to the disciplinary records of both players.
The incident occurred in the 19th over of Pakistan’s chase in a tense Super 4s match when Fareed dismissed Asif to leave Afghanistan one wicket away from victory.
Celebrating Asif’s wicket, Fareed came up with a threatening gesture towards the Pakistan batter, who later reacted by pushing him away and then threatening him with an aggressive bat gesture.
However, Pakistan eventually ended up winning the match by one wicket against Afghanistan to qualify for the Asia Cup 2022 final, with the young pacer Naseem Shah emerging as the hero with the bat.
Meanwhile, ICC said in a statement that Ali breached Article 2.6 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to "using a gesture that is obscene, offensive or insulting during an International Match".
On the other hand, Fareed was found to have breached Article 2.1.12, which relates to “inappropriate physical contact with a Player, Player Support Personnel, Umpire, Match Referee or any other person (including a spectator) during an International Match.”
(With PTI Inputs)
