Could Gulbadin Be Penalised?

A controversial moment arose during the Afghanistan-Bangladesh T20 World Cup match when Afghan fielder Gulbadin Naib fell to the ground in St Vincent.

The incident occurred in the 12th over bowled by spinner Noor Ahmad. Naib, positioned in the slip cordon, complained of cramps. This came after cameras captured Afghanistan Coach Jonathan Trott instructing his players to slow down.

At that point, Bangladesh were behind the Duckworth-Lewis par score in their rain-affected chase of a revised target of 114 runs in 19 overs.

The match witnessed frequent rain interruptions.

When Gulbadin went down, Bangladesh were at 81/7, trailing the DLS par score by two runs. Afghanistan eventually won the match by eight runs, securing their first-ever World Cup semi-final berth.

Commentator Simon Doull expressed his disapproval of the incident, 'The coach sends a message out to say slow it down, slow it down and the first slip just dives on the ground needlessly. That is unacceptable. Gone off anyway. I get that might have gone off anyway for the rain.'

Gulbadin received treatment and was taken off the field by team-mate Naveen-ul-Haq and support staff as rain resumed and players rushed to the dugout.

Veteran Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin jokingly calling for a 'red card' for Naib.

Gulbadin retweeted Ashwin's comment and added his reply filled with laughing emojis, 'Kabi khushi kabi gham main huta hai (It happens sometimes when you are happy or when you are sad). Hamstring.'

The ICC's Code of Conduct classifies 'time-wasting' as a level 1 or 2 offence under Article 2.10.7. The maximum penalty for a level 1 offense is a 100% match-fee fine and two suspension points. If a player accumulates four suspension points within a year, they may be banned for one Test match or two ODIs/T20Is.

Article 41.9 of the ICC's playing conditions for T20Is specifies that a bowler or fielder's time-wasting tactic can be penalised with a five run penalty at the umpire's discretion. However, no such penalty was imposed during the Afghanistan-Bangladesh match.

The ICC playing conditions allow for a post-match investigation if time-wasting is suspected to be deliberate.

'If the umpires believe that the act of time wasting was deliberate or repetitive, they may lodge a report under the ICC Code of Conduct. In such circumstances the Captain and/or any individual members of the fielding team responsible for the time wasting will be charged.'

There haven't been any reports regarding an official investigation by match officials or the ICC against Gulbadin.

Gulbadin's claim of experiencing cramps makes it challenging to definitively prove deliberate time-wasting.

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