Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu fined 10 pc of match fee for breaching ICC conduct code

NEW DELHI: Sri Lanka’s skipper Chamari Athapaththu has received a penalty of 10 per cent of her match fee for violating Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct, as per the ICC website.

The incident took place during the final group stage game of the recently concluded tri-series in Sri Lanka, with the hosts facing South Africa in Colombo. The Proteas emerged victorious in a high-scoring fixture.

Athapaththu was found to have breached Article 2.2 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to “abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fittings during an International Match.”

In addition to this, one demerit point has been added to Athapaththu’s disciplinary record, for whom it was the first offence in a 24-month period.

Chamari Athapaththu fined for a rare show of frustration, smashing her sunglasses in the game against South Africa!#CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/m3QRCYNTcz

— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) May 13, 2025

The incident occurred in the 32nd over of South Africa’s innings, when after being hit for a four by Annerie Dercksen, Athapaththu took off her sunglasses and smashed them to the ground, breaking them into several pieces.

The charges were levelled by on-field umpires Anna Harris and Dedunu de Silva, third umpire Lyndon Hannibal and fourth umpire Nimali Perera. There was no need of a hearing as Athapaththu admitted the offence and accepted the sanctions proposed by Michelle Pereira of the Emirates ICC International Panel of Match Referees.

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.

The tri-series was eventually won by India, who defeated Sri Lanka, the tournament hosts in the final by 97 runs. Mandhana was awarded player of the match for her century in the finals , and Sneh Rana was named Player of the series, as she grabbed 15 wickets in the Tri-series. (ANI)