Pakistan’s star batsman Babar Azam recently ended his long wait for an international century by scoring a hundred in the second ODI against Sri Lanka. However, in the final match of the series, he made a mistake that led to disciplinary action from the International Cricket Council (ICC).

ICC penalizes Babar Azam
The ICC has fined Babar Azam for breaching the ICC Code of Conduct during the ODI series against Sri Lanka, a series Pakistan won convincingly. After getting out in the 21st over of the third ODI, Babar hit the stumps with his bat while walking off the field. This act falls under Article 2.2 of the ICC Code of Conduct, which deals with the misuse of cricket equipment.

As a result, match referee Ali Naqvi imposed a fine of 10 percent of Babar’s match fee and added one demerit point to his disciplinary record. This is Babar's first offense in the past 24 months. He admitted to the charge and accepted the penalty, so no further hearing was required. Under ICC rules, Level 1 offenses carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand and a maximum penalty of 50 percent of the match fee along with one or two demerit points.

Babar's performance in the series
Despite the incident, Babar was the top performer with the bat in the three-match ODI series. He scored 165 runs in three innings at an impressive average of 82.50, including an unbeaten 102.