Ahmad Shahzad captain of Central Punjab team has been fined 50 percent of his match fee, while Azhar Ali and fast-bowler Sohail Khan have been reproached for violating Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Code of Conduct during the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy match, which ended in an exciting draw in Faisalabad on Thursday.
Shahzad was found guilty of committing a Level 1 offence under Article 2.14, which relates to changing the condition of the ball under non-identification process during a match.
This incident occurred during the 17th over of Sindh’s first innings on Tuesday when, during an inspection of the ball, on-field umpires Mohammad Asif and Zameer Ahmed found that the ball had been tampered by a member on the fielding side.
The matter was reported to Nadeem Arshad, match referee who, on the basis of a preliminary review, determined that Shahzad, as captain, had a case to answer for the violation as the incident related to non-identification of the player and a Notice of Charge was issued to him under the PCB Code of Conduct.
Shahzad pleaded not guilty to the charge, but was found guilty after a hearing took place.
“We can agree to disagree in this incident as I maintain that the condition of the ball changed naturally due to the rough playing square and not artificially. I tried to convince the match officials, but they insisted and I accept and respect their decision,” Shahzad stated later.
“I would never indulge in such an act, nor allow any of my teammates to disrespect the game. My priority is to play hard, competitive and result-oriented cricket, and at the same time inspire the younger generation, which watches us play the game,” he added.
In a differend incident, Azhar Ali and Sohail Khan have been handed official reproach as the two players got into an argument after Central Punjab turned out to be victorious against Sindh.
Azhar Ali was found guilty of engaging in a Level 1 offence described in Article 2.9, which deals with throwing a ball at or near a player, support personnel, umpire, match referee or any other third person in an inappropriate and/or dangerous manner during a match.
Sohail was found guilty of committing a Level 1 offense under Article 2.10, which pertains to time wasting by any player or team during a match.
Both the players were charged by on-field umpires Mohammad Asif and Zameer Ahmed. There was no need for formal hearings since the players accepted the proposed sanctions by match referee Nadeem Arshad.
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