Pakistan Cricket Captain Suspended for Racist Taunt in South Africa

Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed has been suspended for four matches for breaching the anti-racism code in Tuesday’s second one-day international against South Africa, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Sunday.

Sarfraz’s on-field taunt in Urdu was caught by stump microphones but he denied that they were aimed at South Africa all-rounder Andile Phehlukwayo, or anyone else, in an apology he issued on Thursday.

Cricket’s world governing body said that Sarfraz later accepted that he had breached the ICC’s anti-racism code for participants.

“The ICC has a zero-tolerance policy towards conduct of this nature,” ICC Chief Executive David Richardson said.

“Sarfraz has admitted the offence, was regretful of his actions and has issued a public apology, so these factors were taken into account when determining an appropriate sanction.”

Sarfraz later tweeted that he had apologised to Phehlukwayo, sharing a picture of him shaking hands with the South African. (See below.)

He was gracious enough to accept my apology and I hope the people of South Africa also accept my apology

“He was gracious enough to accept my apology and I hope the people of South Africa also accept my apology,” he said.

South African cricket captain Faf du Plessis said in a press conference that the South African team has forgiven Ahmen, because he said sorry. In a light-hearted moment, Du Plessis said: “We forgive easily. Maybe not so much when it’s Australia.”

Sarfraz will miss the remaining two matches of the ongoing ODI series, with Shoaib Malik leading the side in Sunday’s fourth match, as well as the first two matches of the Twenty20 series to follow.

The ICC said Sarfraz will undergo a programme to educate him on issues directly relevant to the offence he had committed and would work with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to determine when and how this would take place.

South Africa lead the ODI series 2-1.

(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Amlan Chakraborty and Jenni Baxter)

Sarfraz Ahmed – I hope the people of South Africa also accept my apology.#PAKvSA pic.twitter.com/rIgqzAhtJH

— 💦🍁SYMA_ANSARI🍁💦NA145PP206 (@syma_ansari1) January 25, 2019

South Africa captain Faf Du Plessis made a light-hearted comment at the end of his press conference, during which he stated that his team had forgiven Sarfraz Ahmedhttps://t.co/kVxWJuzXIX #SAvPAK pic.twitter.com/63TbB2XxFv

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) January 25, 2019