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Pakistan wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed has been fined after being guilty of using inappropriate language while playing for Sindh against Balochistan in ongoing National T20 Cup. The Pakistan batter used abusing language after being dismissed by Kashif Bhatti.
The wicket-keeper batter has been fined with 30 per cent of his match fee for a level 1 breach of the Pakistan Cricket Board's Code of Conduct for Players and Players Support Personnel. Sarfaraz was found guilty of violating Article 2.3, which pertains to 'use of audible obscenity.'
Since the cricketer pleaded guilty to the charge and accepted the sanctions proposed by match referee Nadeem Arshad, there was no need of formal hearing. On-field umpires Mohammad Asif, Imtiaz Iqbal, third umpire Rasid Riaz and fourth umpire Nasir Hussain imposed the action on Sarfaraz Ahmed for his unacceptable behaviour during the game.
The Karachi-born player has been overlooked by Pakistan Cricket Board after being sacked as the captain following a poor Australian tour in October 2019. Babar Azam has taken the reign from Sarfaraz across all formats and have led Men in Green to some historic victories in recent past.
Meanwhile, Md Rizwan has cemented his position as a wicket-keeper batter which led to Sarfaraz's exclusion from scheme of things in the national squad. Sarfaraz last made an international appearance during the T20I series against Bangladesh after the T20 World Cup, last year.
Speaking of the match in National T20 Cup, Sarfaraz scored 29 off 23 deliveries as Sindh posted 142/7 in the 1st innings. Apart from Sarfaraz, top-order batter Saad Khan made a valuable contribution with his 29 off 23 balls. In response, Baluchistan fought back hard despite losing wickets at regular intervals in the second innings. Middle-order batter Shan Masood's 53 off 39 and blitz knock from Amad Butt (25 off 12) helped Balochistan to chase down the target in 18.5 overs.
