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Afghanistan continued their form as they went on to defeat Bangladesh after registering an upset in the T20 World Cup 2024. Early on Tuesday, June 25, Afghanistan defeated Bangladesh by just eight runs to progress into the semifinals, thumping the likes of Australia as well as New Zealand.
The final match of the T20 World Cup 2024 Super 8, which was played at the Arnos Vale Ground in Kingstown, St Vincent, was marred with several interruptions. However, rain delays were a prominent factor, in one of the instances, Gulbadin Naib’s injury also turned out to be a controversial moment in the match. The incident occurred in the 12th over of Bangladesh inning after head coach Jonathan Trott signalled the players to slow down while pointing towards the sky.
At the very moment, Gulbadin, who was standing at slip cordon, fell on the ground, clutching his hamstring. Although, it did not give any benefit to the Afghans as the umpires called in for covers with rain coming into play. Although, several questioned the spirit of the game, but it is to be noted whether the International Cricket Council (ICC) has anything in it.
What does ICC Rule states?
According to section 41 of the ICC Playing Conditions for the 2024 T20 World Cup, "The umpires shall be the sole judges of fair and unfair play. If either umpire considers that any action by a player, not covered by these playing conditions, is unfair, he/she shall call and signal Dead ball, if appropriate, as soon as it becomes clear that the call will not disadvantage the non-offending side, and report the matter to the other umpire."
"If this is a first offence by that side, the bowler's end umpire shall then summon the offending player's captain and issue a first and final warning which shall apply to all members of the team for the remainder of the match. And warn the offending player's captain that any further such offence by any member of his/her team shall result in the award of five penalty runs to the opposing team," it further reads.
According to the ICC Code of Conduct, ‘time-wasting’ is deemed a level 1 or 2 offense under Article 2.10.7. As mentioned in the Section 4.0 of the Playing Conditions, which speaks of ‘Time wasting by a fielding side’, “If either umpire considers that the progress of an over is unnecessarily slow, or time is being wasted in any other way, by the captain of the fielding side or by any other fielder, at the first instance the umpire concerned shall: If the ball is in play, call and signal dead ball. Inform the other umpire of what has occurred. The bowler’s end umpire shall then warn the captain of the fielding side, indicating that this is a first and final warning. Inform the batters of what has occurred."
