South Africa fast bowler Kagiso Rabada has been fined 15 percent of his match fee and handed one demerit point for breaching ICC code of conduct during fifth ODI against India. He is found guilty of a Level 1 breach of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel during Tuesday’s ODI against India in Port Elizabeth.
Rabada has now five demerit points on his disciplinary record after receiving three demerit points against Sri Lanka in an ODI on 8 February 2017 and one demerit point during the Lord’s Test against England on 7 July 2017. As a result, Rabada was suspended from the Trent Bridge Test on reaching a tally of four demerit points.
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The incident took place in the eighth over of India’s innings. Kagiso, after dismissing Shikhar Dhawan, “waved at the departing batsman and also made a comment which could have resulted in a reaction from the batsman,” the ICC release said. As a result, Rabada was booked under article 2.1.7, which relates to “using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batsman upon his/her dismissal during an International Match.”
If during the rolling 24-month period, Rabada reaches eight or more demerit points, he will receive another suspension from either two Tests; one Test and two ODIs/T20Is; or four ODIs/T20Is, whichever comes first in the program.
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After the match, Rabada acknowledged his mistakes and accepted the sanction proposed by Andy Pycroft of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees and, as such, there was no need for a formal hearing.
Rabada was a key player for South Africa in their 1-2 victory over Australia last summer, claiming man-of-the-match honors in the first Test in Perth. ven in the ongoing ODI series against India he has been a crucial for the hosts as he has picked as many as 5 wickets in 5 innings at an average of 48.40.