Match referee's stern message to Dhoni for 'deliberately' pushing Mustafizur

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Mirpur (Bangladesh), June 19: International Cricket Council's (ICC) match referee Andy Pycroft gave a stern message to India captain MS Dhoni for deliberately shoving Bangladesh paceman Mustafizur Rahman during the 1st ODI last night (June 18).

Dhoni was fined 75 per cent of his match fees and Rahman penalised 50 per cent for their collision at the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium on Thursday.

Explaining his decision to fine the players, match referee Pycroft of Zimbabwe said, "In the hearing, Dhoni defended the charge on the basis that the bowler was on the wrong line and realising that he couldn't avoid the collision, he used his hand and arm to push him away as he went through to 'minimise the impact'.

"However, my assessment was that Dhoni deliberately pushed and shouldered Mustafizur, which was inappropriate. Even if there was a narrow gap between the runner (Suresh Raina) and the bowler, an experienced Dhoni should have tried to avoid the collision as cricket is a non-contact sport and the players are expected to avoid physical contact at all times. On this basis, I fined Dhoni 75 per cent of his match fee".

Having initially pleaded not guilty to the offence, upon being faced with the evidence during the hearing and upon questioning, Mustafizur admitted his guilt and accepted the proposed sanction.

Pycroft said, "Mustafizur was fined 50 per cent of his match fee after he admitted that that his actions in not getting out of the batsman's way were inappropriate and he should have done more to avoid the contact."

Rahman, the debutant, took 5/50 to bowl Bangladesh to a famous 79-run victory. The 2nd ODI is on Sunday (June 21) at the same venue.

OneIndia News