As if losing to Bangladesh at home wasn’t bad enough, Pakistan has now been penalized for maintaining a slow over-rate during the first Test in Rawalpindi. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has fined Pakistan 30% of their match fee and docked six points from their ICC World Test Championship (WTC) tally.
The penalties were imposed by Ranjan Madugalle of the Emirates ICC Panel of Elite Match Referees after Pakistan was found to be six overs short of the required rate, even after accounting for time allowances. Bangladesh, too, faced sanctions for being three overs short, resulting in a 15% match fee fine and a deduction of three WTC points.
According to Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, teams are fined 5% of their match fee for each over they fail to bowl in the allotted time. Additionally, Article 16.11.2 of the ICC World Test Championship playing conditions stipulates a one-point deduction for each over short.
Captains Shan Masood of Pakistan and Najmul Hossain Shanto of Bangladesh accepted the penalties, negating the need for formal hearings.
In a separate incident, Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan was fined 10% of his match fee for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct. Shakib was penalized for throwing the ball inappropriately during Pakistan’s second innings, an action deemed dangerous as it sailed over Mohammad Rizwan’s head to the wicketkeeper. This breach of Article 2.9 resulted in one demerit point being added to Shakib’s disciplinary record, marking his first offense in 24 months.
Shakib admitted to the offense and accepted the sanction, avoiding a formal hearing. The charges were brought by on-field umpires Richard Kettleborough and Adrian Holdstock, third umpire Michael Gough, and fourth umpire Rashid Riaz.