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Nepal’s U19 off-spinner, Subhash Bhandari, has been reprimanded for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct during the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2024. The incident occurred in a group encounter between Nepal and Pakistan on January 24 in East London, where Pakistan secured a five-wicket victory while chasing Nepal’s total of 197.
The breach took place at the end of the 14th over of Pakistan’s batting innings when Bhandari threw the ball inappropriately towards batter Shahzaib Khan, hitting him on the forearm. Bhandari was found to be in violation of Article 2.9 of the ICC Code of Conduct, which pertains to “throwing a ball at or near a player in an inappropriate and/or dangerous manner during an international match.”
As a consequence, one demerit point was added to Bhandari’s disciplinary record. This incident marks a first-time offence for the young player within a 24-month period. The charges were reported by on-field umpires Phil Gillespie and Bongani Jele, TV umpire Forster Mutizwa, and fourth umpire K.N. Ananthapadmanabhan.
Bhandari admitted the offence and accepted the proposed sanction by the ICC Match Referee, Graeme Labrooy. A formal hearing was not required, and 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.