Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2020: Sarfaraz Ahmed slapped with a fine for making inappropriate comments

Former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed has been fined for breaching the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) code of conduct in the 2020 edition of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. The veteran was slapped with a fine of 35 per cent of his match fees for making inappropriate comments during Sindh’s match against Northern (Pakistan) at the United Bank Limited Sports Complex in Karachi.

During the second day’s play on Saturday, November 7, Sarfaraz was repeatedly making comments, which were deemed uncalled for. He was reportedly not happy with an umpiring decision. After being fined, the 33-year-old Sarfaraz pleaded guilty and accepted the sanctions imposed by Mohammad Anees, the match referee.

Big blow for Sarfaraz Ahmed

“Sarfaraz was reported by on-field umpires Faisal Afridi and Saqib Khan for the violation of article 2.21 of the PCB Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel,” the PCB was quoted as saying in an official statement.

Sarfaraz hasn’t had a great outing even from the cricketing perspective. In the first innings, Sindh were bowled out for 217 in 57.3 overs, but Sarfaraz bagged a golden duck, getting out to Waqas Ahmed. He has been impressive behind the stumps though, taking a few sharp catches and effecting stumpings.

After the end of the third day’s play, Sindh need 346 runs to win seven wickets in hand. Sarfaraz is yet to bat with his team, somewhat, straining with the score at 77 for the loss of three wickets. Saud Shakeel is currently in the middle, batting on 46 and along with him is Ashiq Ali, who’s yet to open his account after 11 balls.

As far as Sarfaraz is concerned, he didn’t find a place in the Pakistan squad for the ODI and T20I series against Zimbabwe. He made his comeback during the T20I series in England where he played only a solitary game.

Apart from Sarfaraz’s mishap, in another incident, Usman Salahuddin, the Central Punjab batsman, was fined 20 per cent of his match fees during the match against Balochistan at the National Stadium in Karachi. In the 26th over of Central Punjab’s innings, the batter showed his bat to the umpire, which was considered as an attempt to mislead the umpires for an LBW decision.