Mohali, Oct 21 (UNI) Pace spearhead Zaheer Khan was today fined 80 per cent of his match fee after he was found guilty of breaching the ICC Code of Conduct during the second Test against Australia here.
At a hearing in front of match referee Chris Broad, Zaheer pleaded guilty to a Level 2 charge under clause C1 of the ICC Code of Conduct which states that players ''shall at all times conduct play within in the spirit of the game as well as within the Laws of Cricket''.
The incident that led to the charge being laid took place after the fall of the first wicket in Australia's second innings on day four of the match.
Once Australian opener Matthew Hayden was dismissed by Harbhajan Singh, Khan ran from his fielding position towards the outgoing batsman. He then circled the batsman and shouted at him in an aggressive manner before returning to his team-mates.
''Clearly, this sort of behaviour is not acceptable at any level of cricket. It showed a lack of respect for the player who had been dismissed,'' said Broad, who is the ICC Match Referee.
''Respect for the opposition was something that we talked about in the pre-series meeting I had with both captains and so it was disappointing that Zaheer behaved in this way.
''However, in considering the penalty, I took into account the fact that Zaheer had a good disciplinary record. He also pleaded guilty at the first opportunity and was very apologetic while also promising not to repeat the offence,'' Broad added.
The charge against Zaheer was levelled by the umpires.
The penalty for a Level 2 offence is a fine of between 50 and 100 per cent of the player's match fee and/or a maximum ban of one Test match or two ODIs.
For Level 2 offences, players have the right to appeal against an adjudicator's decision within 24 hours of notification of that decision.
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