T20 World Cup 2026: Arshdeep Singh penalised for throwing ball at Daryl Mitchell

India paceman Arshdeep Singh has been sanctioned with a 15 per cent deduction from his match fee and has received one demerit point after being found guilty of a Level 1 breach of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Code of Conduct during the recent T20 World Cup final.

The incident occurred during the high-stakes clash against New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, where India emerged victorious by 96 runs.

The offence related to Article 2.9 of the code, which pertains to "throwing a ball (or any other item of cricket equipment) at or near a player in an inappropriate and/or dangerous manner during an international match."

The flashpoint came in the 11th over of New Zealand's pursuit of a daunting target of 256. Arshdeep, following through on his delivery, collected the ball and hurled it towards the stumps, inadvertently striking opposition batter Daryl Mitchell on the pads.

As the seamer walked back to his mark without an immediate apology, Mitchell approached him in a seemingly confrontational manner.

India captain Suryakumar Yadav swiftly intervened to mediate, while umpire Richard Illingworth was also seen having a brief exchange with the bowler. Arshdeep did offer his apologies to Mitchell following the conclusion of the over.

Reflecting on the incident during a post-match interview with Harsha Bhogle, Arshdeep clarified that there was no malicious intent.

"Just went to apologise to Mitchell," he explained. "My throw reverse-swung and hit him so just wanted to say sorry to him for that. It was not intentional."

Harmony was later restored, with a video shared on the official BlackCaps Instagram account showing Arshdeep offering a second apology, which culminated in a handshake between the two players.

The charge was levelled by the on-field umpires Richard Illingworth and Alex Wharf, alongside third umpire Allahuddien Paleker and fourth official Adrian Holdstock.

As this marked Arshdeep's first transgression in a 24-month period, the penalty falls within the standard range for Level 1 breaches.

Such offences carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand and a maximum of 50 per cent of a player's match fee, along with one or two demerit points.