Cricketer Tamim Iqbal fined after reacting angrily over Umpire’s decision
Bangladesh captain Tamim Iqbal was fined 15 percent of his match fee for a Level-1 breach of the ICC Code of Conduct relating to the use of inappropriate language. Since this was his first offence in a 24-month period, he has also accrued one demerit point.
The incident as per espncricinfo.com happened during the third ODI between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in Dhaka on Friday. Iqbal was seen reacting angrily after being given out caught behind during the 10th over of the chase. He reviewed the on-field umpire’s decision but replays were inconclusive. It appeared that Iqbal’s bat slammed down on the ground at the same time the ball passed the outside edge. Given the lack of clear evidence to the contrary, the third umpire had to uphold his on-field colleague’s decision, prompting Iqbal’s outburst as he walked off the field.
That outburst, according to an ICC release, meant Iqbal was in breach of Article 2.3 of the Code of Conduct, which relates to the “use of an audible obscenity during an International Match.” He admitted to the offence and accepted the sanctions put forward by match referee Neeyamur Rashid.
After the match, Iqbal said that he felt the ball didn’t touch his bat, and rued the on-field umpire’s decision.
“It was very disappointing. I was 100 percent sure that I never nicked it,” he said. “It was very unfortunate that when it went to review, it was almost impossible for the [third] umpire to overturn the decision. If the on-field umpire didn’t give that out, it would have been a different thing.”
Sri Lanka won the third and final ODI by 97 runs but Bangladesh had already clinched the series, part of the 2023 World Cup Super League, after winning the first two games.
