An unexpected incident occurred during the match between the Emerging teams of Bangladesh and South Africa. On Wednesday, during the second day of the second four-day match, South African player Innocent Ntuli was seen pulling on the helmet of Bangladeshi cricketer Ripon Mondol. As a result, three players from both teams have been penalized.
Bangladeshi pacer Ripon Mondol did not escape punishment either. The matter was confirmed to the media by match referee Selim Shahed. He said, “Innocent Ntuli has been given four suspension points for pulling Ripon’s helmet. Another South African player, Michael Prins, has received one point. Additionally, Ripon Mondol has been given two points for using abusive language.”
However, this is not the final verdict. More sanctions, including suspensions or financial penalties, may come from the respective cricket boards of Bangladesh and South Africa. On this, Selim Shahed said, “We’ve issued the suspension points, now it’s up to the two boards to decide the penalties — how many matches, and whether they apply to ODIs, Tests, or T20s. We have also sent evidence to both cricket boards.”
For context, after a fiercely contested ODI series, Bangladesh retained the trophy. The first match of the four-day Test series ended in a draw. Due to rain over the last two days, the second Test was also drawn.
