South Africa pace bowler Kagiso Rabada has been banned for the final Test against England following his celebration of Joe Root’s dismissal on the first day of the third Test.
The seamer screamed next to the England skipper after bowling him for 27 in Port Elizabeth.
The International Cricket Council has given him one demerit point, which means he now has four in a two-year period.
That triggers a one-Test ban.
The fourth Test of the series, which is level at 1-1, begins on 24 January in Johannesburg.
The ICC found Rabada guilty of “using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batter upon his or her dismissal during an international match”.
Former England pace bowler Graham Onions described the punishment as “harsh” on The Cricket Social.
Ex-England batsman Jonathan Trott added: “I thought the celebration was a bit aggressive, but nothing that crossed the line.”
Two of his Rabada’s previous demerit points came in the bad-tempered 2018 Test series against Australia, which culminated in the Australia ball-tampering scandal.
The third resulted from his celebration on dismissing India’s Shikhar Dhawan earlier the same year.
This is the second time that Rabada has been banned for an accumulation of demerit points.
The first was on South Africa’s tour of England in 2017, when he missed the second Test at Trent Bridge.
Article courtesy of BBC Sport
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