Sarfraz Ahmed will miss the remainder of the ODI series against South Africa and the first two Twenty20 Internationals as well
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed has been handed a four-match ban after he was heard making a racial comment against South Africa all-rounder Andile Phehlukwayo.
Sarfraz will now miss the fourth and fifth ODIs against South Africa and the first two Twenty20 Internationals as well.
In the 37th over of South Africa’s chase in the second ODI in Durban, the broadcast stump mics picked up Sarfraz speaking in Urdu.
The 31-year-old was heard saying: “Abey kaale, teri ammi aaj kahaan baitheen hain? Kya parwa ke aaye hai aaj?”.
Translated into English, it means: “Hey black guy, where’s your mother sitting today? What [prayer] have you got her to say for you today?”
As a result of this, Sarfraz was found guilty of breaching Article 2.1.1 of the ICC’s Anti-Racism Code, which relates to “engaging in any conduct (whether through the use of language, gestures or otherwise) which is likely to offend, insult, humiliate, intimidate, threaten, disparage or vilify any reasonable person in the position of a Player, Player Support Personnel, Umpire, Match Referee, Umpire Support Personnel or any other person (including a spectator) on the basis of their race, religion, culture, colour, descent, national or ethnic origin.”
As per Article 7.3 of the code, Sarfraz will also have to “undergo a programme of education/counselling designed to
promote the understanding and awareness of issues directly relevant to the offence that the
Participant has been determined to have committed.”
The ICC will hold discussions with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) about when and how this shall take place.
Match referee Ranjan Madugalle reported the incident after the second ODI.
Speaking about the incident and the decision to hand Sarfraz a four-match ban, ICC Chief Executive David Richardson was quoted by the ICC’s website as saying: “The ICC has a zero-tolerance policy towards conduct of this nature,” he was quoted as saying by the ICC’s website. “Sarfraz has promptly admitted the offence, was regretful of his actions and has issued a public apology, so these factors were taken into account when determining an appropriate sanction.”