Shafali Verma reprimanded by ICC, given one demerit point for throwing ball down after dropped catch

India women's batter Shafali Verma has been officially reprimanded by the ICC for breaching the code of conduct in the second T20 International against Zimbabwe. One demerit point has also been added to her disciplinary record. The news comes on the day the final match of the series is due to be played.

India and Zimbabwe are playing a three-match women's T20 series. Two matches have been played and India have already won the series. The third and last match will be played in Raipur today. The news of the action against Shafali has come out ahead of it.

According to the ICC, during the second T20 in Raipur the umpire found that Shafali had breached a rule of the game. She has violated Level 1 of the code of conduct for players and support staff. The action has been taken under Article 2.2. Under ICC rules, players must follow the rules on the field during a match.

The incident happened in the 12th over of India's bowling. Shree Charani was bowling and Shafali was fielding at mid-off. Shafali dropped a catch off batter Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano. In anger, Shafali then threw the ball on the ground.

Under the rules of the game, misusing cricket equipment in this way or showing anger on the field is considered a breach of the code of conduct. This is why action was taken against Shafali.

The Indian women's squad includes Smriti Mandhana (captain), Shafali Verma, Anushka Sharma, Harmanpreet Kaur, Niki Prasad, Deepti Sharma, Richa Ghosh (wicketkeeper), Arundhati Reddy, Shree Charani, Nandni Sharma and Kranti Goud.

The Zimbabwe women's squad includes Kelis Ndhlovu, Beloved Biza, Modester Mupachikwa (wicketkeeper), Sharne Mayers, Nyasha Gwanzura, Michelle Mavunga, Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano, Francisca Chipare, Josephine Nkomo (captain), Olinder Chare and Tendai Makusha.