Pakistani skipper gets pulled up again by ICC match referee
Pakistan Times Sports Desk

JAMSHEDPUR (India): Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq for the second time in a week was pulled up by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Thursday, this time reprimanded for hurling his bat after his run out dismissal in the second One-day International in Vishakapatnam.

The ICC match referee Chris Broad yesterday reprimanded the Pakistan captain for his action which occurred during Tuesday’s second one-dayer after Inzamam was run out by yards afer a mix up with Abdul Razzaq.

Just last week after Pakistan won the third Test in Bangalore to draw the series with India, Inzamam was banned for one Test match and fined 30% of his match fees for excessive appealing and conduct unbecoming for a captain.

Inzamam, normally a very calm and quiet person was seen grumbling to himself in an angry mood after his run-out and, as he neared the dressing room, he flung his bat angrily. "I am ashamed of my behaviour. I know I shouldn’t have behaved the way I did but I succumbed to match pressure. It was purely an act that happened in the heat of the moment," Inzamam said.

"I was extremely upset with myself because I knew I had blown away the chance of winning the game for my team," he added. Chris Broad, who held a hearing ahead of Saturday’s third match here, said Inzamam pleaded guilty to abusing cricket equipment, a charge that breaches the ICC Code of Conduct. "As captain, Inzamam must learn to set the example for his team to follow," Broad said in a statement. "The player has apologized for his actions and I hope that we will not see this repeated."

Inzamam also insisted that he had lost his cool in the heat of the moment. "Pakistan and India matches are pressure games but I should have controlled myself on the field it was not a good sight for others," he said Inzamam has been unusually ‘hyper’ on this tour and on the final day of the Test in Bangalore was seen openly questioning the umpires’ decisions.

Inzamam equalled former team-mate Wasim Akram’s undesirable world record of being run out 38 times in Vizag and said it was a record of which he was not proud of and would like to erase it. Asked what he had said to Razzaq who failed to respond to his call and was caught watching the ball go to short fine leg, Inzamam said, "I told Razzaq that it was my call. There is no hard feeling between me or Razzaq. It just happened. We didn’t apologise to each other because we both know it was part of the game. But I am sure we will both learn from this incident and will try not to mess-up again."

Manager Saleem Altaf said he would be speaking to Inzamam and the rest of the players to be careful about their conduct on the field. But sources in the team said no one was happy with Broad’s latest penalty for Inzamam. "He appears to be a trigger happy match referee. Everyone knew why Inzamam was upset but his actions were directed at himself not anyone else so there really was no reason for even a reprimand. Broad apparently likes to be the policeman and remain in the news," one source said.●