Follow UsPakistan batter Babar Azam has been fined 10% of his match fee for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct. The incident happened during the third ODI against Sri Lanka, when he struck the stumps with his bat after being dismissed.
According to the ICC’s regulations, Babar’s action violated Article 2.2, which deals with “abuse of cricket equipment or fixtures and fittings.” Because of this infraction, a demerit point has been added to his disciplinary record -- his first in the past 24 months.
The match referees involved in levelling the charge were on-field umpires Alex Wharf and Rashid Riaz, third umpire Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid, and fourth umpire Faisal Afridi. The proposed sanction was made by Ali Naqvi, who is part of the Emirates ICC International Panel of Match Referees.
Babar admitted his mistake and accepted the fine, which meant a formal hearing was not required. Babar scored 165 runs across the ODI series, including his 20th ODI century, helping Pakistan complete a 3–0 sweep over Sri Lanka. Looking ahead, Babar’s next international assignment is a T20I tri-series at home, featuring Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, set to begin on November 18.