T20 World Cup 2026: Mohammad Nabi fined for ICC Code of Conduct breach during SA vs AFG match
The T20 World Cup 2026 has been quite uneventful for Afghanistan so far. The team is on the verge of elimination from the tournament after losing both of their group stage matches. While the team was defeated by New Zealand in the first match, despite a tough fight against South Africa in the second match, the team had to face defeat in the second Super Over.
Apart from losing the match against South Africa, a fine has also been imposed on senior Afghanistan player Mohammad Nabi. He was fined 15% of his match fee for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct.
According to the official statement by ICC, Nabi was found to have breached Article 2.4 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to "Disobeying an Umpire's instruction during an International Match." He has also been handed one demerit point since it was his first offence in 24 months. The incident happened at the start of the 14th over of Afghanistan's innings, where Nabi engaged with the umpires over a wristband worn by South Africa pacer Lungi Ngidi.
In this match, South Africa posted a mammoth cricket score of 187 runs after being invited to bat first. In response, thanks to Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s 84 off 42 and Noor Ahmed’s 15 off 9 in the death overs, Afghanistan also managed exactly 187 runs before being all out.
The match was tied, Azmatullah Omarzai and Rahmatullah Gurbaz came to bat for Afghanistan as they managed to extract 17 runs in the first Super Over against the bowling of Lungi Ngidi. Following this, Fazalhaq Farooqi came to bowl to defend 17 runs. He bowled well and dismissed Dewald Brevis, but Tristan Stubbs hit two boundaries, including a last-ball six, to force another super over. In the second super over, Stubbs and Miller batted again for South Africa. This time, Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan gave the ball to Azmatullah Omarzai. Stubbs and Miller hit 3 sixes in that over and added 23 runs.
This time, Mohammad Nabi came to bat with Omarzai. On the other side, South Africa handed the ball to Keshav Maharaj. He bowled a dot ball off the first ball and then dismissed Nabi off the second. Following this, Rahmanullah Gurbaz came to bat. He kept Afghanistan's hopes alive by hitting three consecutive sixes, but was caught out in the point region on the last ball, and Afghanistan lost the match. Afghanistan will face the United Arab Emirates on February 16. Rashid Khan & side have almost been eliminated from the tournament, and from here, any miracle can take them into the second round.
