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Indian paceman Zaheer Khan was on Tuesday fined 80 per cent of his match fee for violating the ICC Code of Conduct by running towards Australian opener Matthew Hayden and shouting at him after his dismissal on the fourth day of the second cricket Test here.

Zaheer was found guilty of Level 2 charge under clause C1 of the ICC Code of Conduct which states that players “shall at all times conduct play within the spirit of the game as well as within the Laws of Cricket.”

Zaheer pleaded guilty in the hearing, conducted by match referee Chris Broad, and also attended by all four umpires and India coach Gary Kirsten.
The fast bowler has the right to appeal within 24 hours of the decision.

The incident that led to the charge being laid took place after the fall of the first wicket in Australia’s second innings yesterday.

After Hayden was dismissed by Harbhajan Singh, Khan ran from his fielding position towards the outgoing batsman. He then circled the batsman and shouted at him in an aggressive manner before returning to his team-mates.

“Clearly, this sort of behaviour is not acceptable at any level of cricket — it showed a lack of respect for the player who had been dismissed,” said Broad, a member of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees. 

“Respect for the opposition was something that we talked about in the pre-series meeting I had with both captains and so it was disappointing that Zaheer behaved in this way” Broad said through a press release issued by ICC.

“However, in considering the penalty, I took into account the fact that Zaheer had a good disciplinary record. He also pleaded guilty at the first opportunity and was very apologetic while also promising not to repeat the offence,” Broad said.

The penalty for a Level 2 offence is a fine of between 50 and 100 per cent of the player’s match fee and/or a maximum ban of one Test match or two ODIs.