Pakistan captain Fatima Sana fined over Shafali Verma gesture in Asia Cup

Pakistan captain Fatima Sana has been sanctioned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for gesturing during her team’s Asia Cup group match against India last week.

Sana was fined 10 percent of her match fee by the ICC on Monday, two days after India handed Pakistan a record T20 defeat in the regional tournament.

The incident occurred after Sana caught and bowled out Shafali Verma in her second over and gestured to the pavilion. Verma scored 12 runs off six balls as India beat Pakistan by seven wickets to remain unbeaten in the competition.

Sana admitted to her offence, which breached Article 2.5 of the ICC Code of Conduct relating to “using language, actions or gestures which disparage or which could provoke an aggressive reaction from a batter upon dismissal”.

Additionally, one demerit point was added to her disciplinary record for her second offence in 24 months. The previous incident occurred during a T20I against Ireland in August 2025.

According to the ICC’s Code of Conduct, Level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand, a maximum penalty of 50 percent of a player’s match fee and one or two demerit points.

India have cruised through to the semifinals with six points from three matches. Pakistan are looking for a win against Hong Kong on Monday.

The 50-over world champions have won a record seven Asia Cup titles, most recently in 2022.

Pakistan have never won the title and have twice finished runners-up to neighbours India, in 2012 and 2016.

Sana was named Pakistan’s captain in October 2024, becoming the youngest player to lead the women’s cricket team at the age of 22.