India´s Sharma fined for Malan send-off in first Test

Birmingham, United Kingdom -India´s Ishant Sharma has been fined 15 percent of his match fee and received one demerit point under the International Cricket Council´s code of conduct for the ´send-off´ he gave England´s Dawid Malan during the first Test at Edgbaston, the global governing body announced Saturday.

Fast bowler Sharma was found to have contravened 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 in question took place during the opening session of Friday´s third day when Sharma dismissed Malan for 20 and then celebrated his exit in close proximity to the Middlesex left-hander -- an action which in the view of the match officials could have provoked an aggressive reaction from the departing batsman.

Following the day´s play, Sharma accepted the offence and the sanction put forward by match referee Jeff Crowe, the former New Zealand captain.

Sharma was found to have committed a level-one breach of the code.

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

Level One breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand, a maximum penalty of 50 percent of a player´s match fee, and one or two demerit points.

When a player reaches four or more demerit points within a 24-month period, these are converted into suspension points and lead to a ban from international cricket.

Two suspension points equate to a ban from one Test or two one-day internationals or two Twenty20 internationals, depending on which type of fixture comes first for the player concerned.