Bangladesh captain Mortaza suspended for one ODI

Melbourne, March 19 (IANS) World cricket governing body ICC on Thursday suspended Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza for one One-Day International (ODI) match and fined him 40 per cent of his match fee due to slow over-rate during their loss to India in the World Cup quarter-finals here.

"Roshan Mahanama of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees imposed the suspension on Mashrafe after Bangladesh was ruled to be two overs short of its target at the end of the match when time allowances were taken into consideration," International Cricket Council (ICC) said in a statement.

The charge was laid by on-field umpires Aleem Dar and Ian Gould, third umpire Steve Davis and fourth umpire Paul Reiffel.

Mortaza will miss Bangladesh’s next ODI after receiving his second minor over-rate offence on Thursday.

The skipper and his players were both fined following the dramatic Pool A match victory over England that booked their place in the quarter-finals, meaning a second such offence would see Mortaza miss a future ODI fixture. 

For a captain to be suspended in an ICC event, he must commit two minor over-rate offences. Mortaza pleaded guilty to the offence and accepted the sanction, meaning a formal hearing was not required. 

The suspension capped what was a tough night for the Bangladesh captain, with Mortaza taking just 1-69 with the ball and scoring one run with the bat in the heavy defeat against India.

Mortaza was visibly frustrated with the performance of his team on the field and was involved in a heated exchange with young fast bowler Taskin Ahmed after he bowled Rohit Sharma out for what would prove a match-winning 137.