Mashrafe fined 20%, Gunathilaka receives official reprimand

ESPNcricinfo: Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza has been fined 20% of his match fee while Sri Lanka opener Danushka Gunathilaka has been officially reprimanded for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct during the tri-series final in Mirpur on Saturday.

Both players breached Article 2.1.7 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to “using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batsman upon his/her dismissal during an International Match.”

As a result, one demerit point has been added to each player’s disciplinary records. Both players admitted their offences and accepted the sanctions proposed by match referee David Boon. The Mashrafe incident occured in the sixth over of Sri Lanka’s innings when the Bangladesh captain dismissed Kusal Mendis and yelled while running close to him during a send off in a “manner that could have provoked an aggressive reaction,” according to the ICC release. The incident involving Gunathilaka happened in the sixth over of the chase when Tamim Iqbal was dismissed by Dushmantha Chameera and Gunathilaka gave the batsman a send-off when he was walking towards the dressing room.

It was Gunathilaka’s first offence while Mashrafe was sanctioned for the second time since the introduction of the revised Code in September 2016. Mashrafe had received one demerit point during the home ODIs against England in October 2016 and now has a total of two demerit points.

Bangladesh skipper Shakib out of first Sri Lanka test

Reuters: Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who regained captaincy of the country’s test team in December, will miss the first test against Sri Lanka starting on 31 January due to an injury, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) said.

Shakib injured his left little finger during the final of the Rocket Tri-Nation series against Sri Lanka on Saturday, which Sri Lanka won by 79 runs.

“He has been assessed by a cosmetic surgeon and necessary repairs have been done,” Debashis Chowdhury, the BCB’s senior physician, said in a statement.

“The affected finger will have to be immobilized for at least a week before further assessment is made which means he is out of the first test in Chittagong.”

Shakib replaced Mushfiqur Rahim as test captain in December after previously leading the team for nine tests from 2009 to 2011.

The second match of the two-test against Sri Lanka starts on 8 February in Dhaka.