India’s left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh has been fined 15 per cent of his match fee and issued a single demerit point for hurling the ball into Daryl Mitchell’s pads during the T20 World Cup final in Ahmedabad. The ICC said the act breached Level 1 Article 2.9 of its code – “throwing a ball… at or near a player in an inappropriate and/or dangerous manner”.
The flash-point arrived in the 11th over of New Zealand’s pursuit of 256. Arshdeep fielded off his own bowling, swivelled and flung the ball back towards the striker’s stumps. It tailed late, thumped Mitchell on the front leg and, for a moment, tempers frayed. Mitchell advanced a couple of paces, clearly unimpressed; Arshdeep turned and wandered back to his mark. Umpire Richard Illingworth offered a quiet word, India captain Suryakumar Yadav joined in, and the matter cooled. An apology followed at the end of the over.
Speaking to broadcaster Harsha Bhogle a few minutes after India had sealed a 96-run victory, Arshdeep said: “Just went to apologise to Mitchell. My throw reverse-swung and hit him so just wanted to say sorry to him for that. It was not intentional.” A short clip later posted on the BlackCaps’ Instagram page showed the pair shaking hands, smiles restored.
Match officials Illingworth and Alex Wharf, backed by TV umpire Allahuddien Paleker and fourth umpire Adrian Holdstock, reported the incident. Because it is Arshdeep’s first offence inside a 24-month window, the sanction is relatively light – an official reprimand sits at the lower end, while the ceiling for a Level 1 breach is 50 per cent of the match fee plus up to two demerit points. Accumulating four points in that period would trigger a suspension.
From a cricketing perspective, India were hardly unsettled. The over itself cost just six runs, and Mitchell – New Zealand’s form batter all tournament – could not reel in the record target. He finished with 34 from 22 balls before holing out, one of the six wickets India claimed in the space of 25 deliveries to wrap up the title.
A quick note for casual followers: a demerit point is essentially cricket’s version of points on a driving licence. They stay on the player’s record for two years, and enough of them lead to a ban.
Mitchell, for his part, did not speak publicly about the incident. Those close to the New Zealand camp said he considered the apology sufficient and wanted the focus back on cricket.
