India’s record eighth Women’s Asia Cup title came with a small setback for pacer Kranti Gaud, who has been punished by the ICC for her celebration during the final against Sri Lanka in Dubai on Sunday.
Kranti Gaud has been fined 10 per cent of her match fee and given one demerit point for a Level 1 breach of the ICC Code of Conduct. The incident happened during the opening over of Sri Lanka’s 184-run chase. Kranti Gaud dismissed Imesha Dulani and then made a gesture towards the pavilion as part of her send-off.
The ICC considered the gesture provocative and said it fell under Article 2.5 of its Code of Conduct. The rule covers words, actions or gestures that insult or disparage a batter after their dismissal or could encourage an aggressive reaction.
Kranti Gaud admitted to the offence and accepted the punishment proposed by match referee Supriya Rani Das. It was Kranti Gaud’s first offence in the previous 24 months, which meant she avoided a more serious punishment.
Under the ICC’s rules, Level 1 offences carry the lowest range of penalties. A player can receive an official reprimand or a fine of up to 50 per cent of their match fee, along with one or two demerit points, depending on the offence.
Despite the incident, India comfortably completed their campaign by defeating Sri Lanka by 72 runs to win a record eighth Women’s Asia Cup title.
Pakistan also faced an ICC penalty for a separate offence during their semi-final against Sri Lanka on Friday. The Pakistan team was found to have bowled one over short of the required rate after all applicable time allowances were considered. As a result, Pakistan’s players were fined five per cent of their match fees.
Under Article 2.22 of the ICC Code of Conduct, players are fined five per cent of their match fee for every over their team falls short of the required rate. Pakistan captain Fatima Sana admitted to the offence and accepted the proposed sanction.
Hopefully such things won’t happen again.
