ICC fines Shubman Gill for social media post after controversial WTC final dismissal
The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday (June 12) imposed a fine on Indian opener Shubman Gill for publicly criticising the umpiring decision, which saw him given out caught behind in the slips despite debatable proof of the legality of the catch taken by Australian allrounder Cameron Green.
The 23-year-old has been sanctioned a fine of 15% of his match fees taking a direct aim at the umpiring for the World Test Championship (WTC) final at The Oval. The social media post from the youngster faced the wrath of the ICC board, with the governing body calling him out for the breach of an important regulation and player ethics.
Gill took to Twitter after the close of Day 4 of the WTC final to express his shock and displeasure at the caught-behind decision given against him. The post featured an image of the diving Green, who took the ball inches off the turf and claimed the catch, which was later verified and upheld by the TV umpire.
Neither Shubman Gill nor his batting partner and skipper Rohit Sharma were pleased with the outcome. Rohit was seen openly quering the on-field umpire about the decision, asking how come the call got made when the part of the ball was clearly sneaking past Green's fingers and touching the turf.
Gill faces fine for "public criticism" of umpire's call
The catch triggered a widespread debate on what determines a fair catch. With no 3-d image of the grab available, there was no way to accurately verify if Green had taken a fair catch or not. But the decision went against Shubman Gill since the TV umpire interpreted the image to be a case of Green covering the ball with his fingers beneath.
Gill wasn't pleased, however, and took to social media to express his disapproval of the call made.
🔎🔎🤦🏻♂️ pic.twitter.com/pOnHYfgb6L
— Shubman Gill (@ShubmanGill) June 10, 2023
The post above has cost the 23-year-old part of his match fees as the ICC code of conduct mandates players not to indulge in "public criticism" of the umpiring decisions made.
"India's Shubman Gill will face a sanction for appearing to criticise the decision to give him out on the fourth day of the Test, breaching article 2.7 which relates to public criticism or inappropriate comment in relation to an incident occurring in an international match. The young opener was fined a further 15 percent of his match fee," the ICC said in a media statement.
Australia, too, faced the brunt of the ICC regulations for failing to deliver their overs on time. The match officials found the WTC champions four overs short of the stipulated time and lashed out a fine of 80% on the team for breaking the rule.