West Indies wicketkeeper Nicholas Pooran, who is riding high on two extraordinary performances in the span of one week, has been reprimanded by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for breaching the Code of Conduct in the second T20I against India in Guyana on Sunday, August 6. Pooran was fined 15 per cent of his match fees for criticising the umpires' decision to review an LBW call in the fourth over of the Indian innings, which he clearly thought was not out.
The ICC release stated, "Pooran flouted Article 2.7 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to public criticism in relation to an incident occurring in an international match."
One demerit point was also added to Pooran's name with it being a first offence in 24 months. As per Level 1 Offence of the ICC Code of Conduct, there is a minimum fine, a maximum fine of 50 percent and an addition of one or two demerit points.
"There was no need for a formal hearing after Pooran admitted to the offence and accepted the sanctions levelled by on-field umpires Leslie Reifer and Nigel Duguid, third umpire Gregory Brathwaite and fourth official Patrick Gustard and proposed by match referee Richie Richardson," the ICC release further stated.
Pooran, who came in at No. 4 was in the middle in just the first over of the innings after Indian skipper Hardik Pandya took two wickets in the opening over. Pooran, however, has been on a different level in terms of confidence as he started smacking the Indian bowlers from the outset. He didn't care as to how many wickets had fallen, the situation of the game, or which bowler was bowling. He completed his half-century off just 29 balls and ended up scoring 67 runs.
West Indies did undergo a mini-collapse but Pooran's innings ensured that West Indies were not messing up the chase of 153 runs.
