Ishant Sharma penalised for breaching ICC code of conduct

Indian fast bowler Ishant Sharma has been fined 15 per cent of his match fees and received one demerit point for breaching Level 1 of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Code of Conduct during his side's opening Test of the ongoing five-match series against England.

The 29-year-old was found to have violated Article 2.1.7 of the code, 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".

The incident happened during the first session's play on Friday when Sharma celebrated the dismissal of Dawid Malan in close proximity to him, an action which in the view of the match officials had the potential to provoke an aggressive reaction from the departing batsman.

After the third day's play, Sharma admitted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by ICC match referee Jeff Crowe.

The charge was levelled by on-field umpires Aleem Dar and Chris Gaffaney, third umpire Marais Erasmus, and fourth umpire Tim Robinson.

It should be noted that level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand, a maximum penalty of 50 per cent of a player's match fee, and one or two demerit points.