Indian medium pacer Khaleel Ahmed was reprimanded for giving a send-off to Marlon Samuels during the India vs West Indies fourth ODI at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. Khaleel received an official warning and one demerit point for advancing aggressively towards Marlon Samuels after dismissing the batsman.
Khaleel was found guilty of a Level 1 breach of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel on Monday. India went to win the match by a whopping 224 runs, taking an unassailable 2-1 lead in the five-match series.
Level 1 breaches carry a maximum penalty of 50 per cent of a player’s match fee and one or two demerit points but Khaleel got away with the minimum punishment.
The incident occurred in the 14th over of the West Indies chase when Khaleel, known for over the top celebrations, ran aggressively towards Samuels after having him caught behind for 18.
On-field umpires Ian Gould and Anil Chaudhary reported the incident to match referee and according to ICC, Khaleel’s aggressive celebration violated Article 2.5 of the Code, which relates to “using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batter upon his/her dismissal during an international match”.
The young left-arm seamer who returned with career-best figures of 3 for 13 in five overs admitted to the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by match referee Chris Broad.