The semi-finalists from the T20 World Cup 2024 faced an early exit from the ongoing Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates, following their defeats at the hands of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Having won one and lost one in their first two Group B games, Afghanistan faced Sri Lanka in a must-win game in Abu Dhabi and scored 169/8 while batting first. However, the Lankans only needed 18.4 overs to chase the total down and knock the Afghans out of the competition.
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During the high-stakes game, tensions ran high on the Afghanistan side and that led to multiple code of conduct breaches from the bowlers, who were punished by the ICC.
ICC reprimands Noor Ahmad and Mujee-ur-Rahman following Afghanistan's Asia Cup exit
As Sri Lanka inched closer to the target at 16.3 over mark, the 20-year-old's delivery to Kamindu Mendis went down the leg and was adjudged wide by the umpire and the batters ran a single. Ahmad looked unhappy with the decision and was charged for his dissent as per Article 2.8.
On the other hand, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman dislodged the bails by his towel out of frustration after one of his overs and was sanctioned for abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fittings as per Article 2.2.
The spin-duo accepted the charges from umpires Virender Sharma, Asif Yaqook, Rohan Pandit and match referee Richie Richardson and were handed a demerit point each.
With a wicket each in their final fixture, Noor finished the tournament with 4 wickets, while it was Mujeeb's only wicket in his solitary appearance.