Pakistan captain Fatima Sana on Monday was sanctioned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) after her fiery send-off to India batter Shafali Verma during Saturday’s Women’s Asia Cup Group A clash in Dubai. Fatima was fined and given a demerit point for her action.
The incident happened in the second over of India’s chase when Shafali was dismissed caught and bowled by Fatima for just 12 runs. Following the dismissal, Fatima gestured for the Indian to follow her back to the pavilion.
Fatima was found to have breached article 2.5 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to “using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batter upon dismissal.”
In addition, the all-rounder has also been handed one demerit point, which got added to her disciplinary record. It was the second offence by Fatima in the last 24-month period, taking her tally of demerit points to two. Her earlier demerit point was received during a T20I game against Ireland in Dublin on August 6 in 2025.
Pakistan were bowled out for 55 runs in the Group A game at the Dubai International Stadium, in 18.1 overs, where Shree Charani and Prema Rawat picked up three wickets apiece, while Deepti Sharma picked up two others.
Fatima waged a lone battle with the ball, snaring three wickets, which included the dismissals of Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal as well. India, however, eventually chased down the tally inside nine overs, with seven wickets in hand. This was India’s seventh straight win against Pakistan in T20 Asia Cup meetings, with the latter yet to beat their rivals in the tournament.
India had earlier secured their ticket to the semifinals after wins against Hong Kong and Thailand. The result in the Pakistan game assured them of a top-of-the-table finish in Group A. Pakistan, on the other hand, beat Thailand in their opener, but lost against India. They have one more game remaining, against Hong Kong, on Monday in Dubai.
