While the entire nation is still celebrating India’s third T20 World Cup 2026 trophy-winning moment, Arshdeep Singh received some bad news. The Indian pacer is punished for breaching rules, for which he has been fined 15 per cent of his match fee for a Level 1 breach of the ICC Code of Conduct during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 final against New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, March 8.
According to the International Cricket Council (ICC), Arshdeep was found to have breached Article 2.9 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to “throwing a ball (or any other item of cricket equipment) at or near a player in an inappropriate and/or dangerous manner during an International Match.”
A demerit point with the penalty for Arshdeep Singh
The penalty was because of the heated moment between the bowler and the New Zealand batter Daryl Mitchell. In the 11th over of the second innings, when New Zealand was chasing a target of 256, Arshdeep aggressively threw a ball at the batter. The action was enough to break an ICC rule. Along with the penalty, one demerit point was added to the bowler’s disciplinary record as well
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In an official press release, ICC informed, “Level 1 breach carries a minimum penalty of an official reprimand, a maximum penalty of 50 per cent of a player’s match fee, and one or two demerit points. When a player reaches four or more demerit points within 24 months, they are converted into suspension points, and a player is banned.”
For Arshdeep Singh, it was his first offence in 24 months. There will be no formal hearing as the player accepted the sanction proposed by Andy Pycroft of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees.
For which incident did ICC penalise Arshdeep?
The incident between the pacer and Daryl Mitchell happened during the fourth delivery of the 11th over when Arshdeep aggressively threw the ball and hit the thigh pad of the batter. Daryl Mitchell instantly reacted and threw some words at the Indian pacer.
Captain Suryakumar Yadav rushed to the spot to normalise the situation. Placing one arm on the batter’s shoulder, Yadav helped the batter to cool down, while Arshdeep received some advice from the field umpire.
Later, both the batter and the bowler shook hands with each-other, marking the end of a heated exchange.
India won the final by 96 runs against New Zealand and claimed the title for the third time, the highest number of T20 World Cup trophies won by any team across the world. It is also necessary to remember that Team India was the defending champion in the tournament as well.
For the first time, a team is successfully able to defend their title, and that too on their home ground. March 8 was the night when the Men in Blue created record after record.
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