Shakib Al Hasan, the allrounder from Bangladesh, has been fined 10% of his match fee and handed one demerit point for a Level 1 breach of the ICC code of conduct during the Rawalpindi Test against Pakistan.
The incident took place on the fifth day of the Test match, when Shakib ran up to bowl but stopped short upon realizing that the batter, Mohammad Rizwan, was not ready to face. Rizwan was engaged in a conversation with Bangladesh keeper Litton Das at that moment. When Rizwan turned towards Shakib, the bowler threw the ball in an arc over the batter’s head to Litton. Umpire Richard Kettleborough reprimanded Shakib on the field for his actions.
Match referee Ranjan Madugalle determined that Shakib had violated Article 2.9 of the ICC code of conduct, which pertains 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 or any other third person in an inappropriate and/or dangerous manner during an International Match.”
Shakib accepted the offence and agreed to the penalty proposed by Madugalle, thus avoiding the need for a formal hearing. The charges were brought by on-field umpires Kettleborough and Adrian Holdstock, third umpire Michael Gough, and fourth umpire Rashid Riaz.
This marks Shakib’s first demerit point in the last 24 months. If a player accumulates four or more demerit points within a 24-month timeframe, they would be converted into suspension points. Accumulating suspension points could result in the player being suspended from international matches, with ODIs and T20Is each carrying a weight of one suspension point, and Test matches carrying a weight of two suspension points.
Despite his crucial contribution to Bangladesh’s victory in Rawalpindi with figures of 3 for 44 in Pakistan’s second innings, Shakib is facing off-field challenges. He is one of 147 individuals implicated in a murder case linked to recent student protests in Dhaka that led to the downfall of the Sheikh Hasina government. Shakib, a member of Hasina’s Awami League party and a former MP, is playing in this series amidst this controversy.