Over-the-top celebration after dismissing Duckett; ICC fines Siraj

LONDON: Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj has been fined by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for breaching the Code of Conduct during the Lord’s Test match. The action was taken after Siraj’s celebration following the dismissal of England opener Ben Duckett was deemed excessive.

According to the ICC, Siraj has been fined 15 percent of his match fee under Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct and has also received one demerit point.

The report was filed by on-field umpires Paul Reiffel and Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid, third umpire Ahsan Raza, and fourth umpire Graham Lloyd. The incident occurred on Day 4 of the Test while England was batting.

After Duckett’s dismissal, Siraj was seen approaching the batter and making physical contact, with his celebration crossing acceptable limits, as per the ICC’s observation. The behaviour was found to be in violation of Article 2.5 of the Code, which pertains to inappropriate physical contact, or aggressive or provocative behaviour upon the dismissal of a batter in an international match.

This is Siraj’s second demerit point within two years. The first came during a Test against Australia in Adelaide. Accumulating more than four demerit points can lead to a suspension from future international matches.