Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi had plenty to celebrate after scoring his first ODI century against India in Chennai. The knock came in his typical anchor style, under pressure, and gave Afghanistan a fighting chance in the final ODI of the series. But despite the milestone performance, it was an on-field mistake later in the match that ended up landing him in trouble with the ICC.
The ICC has officially reprimanded Shahidi and handed him one demerit point for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct during the third ODI against India at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. The Afghanistan skipper was found guilty of repeatedly running on the protected area of the pitch while batting, an offence that resulted in a five-run penalty for his team as well.
What exactly did Hashmatullah Shahidi do?
Shahidi was charged under Article 2.10.10 of the ICC Code of Conduct, which deals with a batter causing deliberate or avoidable damage to the pitch.
The left-hander was initially warned twice by the on-field umpires for running through the danger area. After continuing to commit the same offence, he received an official warning in the 31st over of Afghanistan’s innings. However, the warnings failed to have the desired effect.
In the 40th over, Shahidi once again ran on the protected area of the pitch, forcing the umpires to award India five penalty runs. As a result, India began their chase with five runs already on the scoreboard. The charge was levelled by on-field umpires Chris Gaffaney and Rohan Pandit, along with third umpire Richard Illingworth and fourth umpire Virender Sharma.
Will this affect Afghanistan?
The good news for Shahidi is that this was his first offence in a 24-month period. The Afghanistan captain accepted the charge and the sanction proposed by match referee Ranjan Madugalle, which eliminated the need for a formal hearing. Along with the official reprimand, Shahidi received one demerit point on his disciplinary record.
While a single demerit point won’t affect much, the ICC’s disciplinary system can become stricter if offences continue to pile up. Should Shahidi accumulate three more demerit points over the next two years, those points could be converted into suspension points and then he could miss a match for Afghanistan.
