ICC punishes Shaheen Afridi and two more Pakistan players for crossing the line against South Africa

Shaheen has been fined 25 percent of his match fee for his physical confrontation with South Africa batter Matthew Breetzke. The heated exchange escalated when, in the 28th over of the South African innings, Shaheen came in Breetzke’s way while he was running down the non-striker end for a single. The Protea batter almost took a tumble, resulting in an angry altercation between the two. Things got heated, and the matter seemed to be heading towards an ugly turn before Shaheen and Breetzke had to be separated.

“Pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi was fined 25 per cent of his match fee for breaching Article 2.12 of the Code, which pertains to “inappropriate physical contact with a Player, Player Support Personnel, Umpire, Match Referee or any other person (including a spectator) during an International Match,” the ICC said in a release.

Shakeel, Ghulam fined 10 percent

That wasn’t it. The very next over, Shakeel and Ghulam got carried away, and aggressively celebrated the dismissal of South Africa captain Temba Bavuma. Bavuma, who was run out at the stiker’s end, couldn’t even complete his tracks before he was interrupted by Shakeel and Ghulam, both of whom got up to Bavuma’s face and celebrated animatedly. Shakeel and Ghulam were fined 10 percent of their match fee.

“Both players were found guilty of breaching Article 2.5 of the Code, which relates to ‘using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batter upon his/her dismissal during an International Match,'” the release added.

Besides fines, all three players also handed one demerit point. Shaheen, Shakeel and Ghulam accepted the sanctions.