India’s left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh has been penalised by the International Cricket Council (ICC) after an on-field incident involving New Zealand batter Daryl Mitchell during the T20 World Cup 2026 final at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

The ICC fined the 27-year-old 15 per cent of his match fee for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct. One demerit point was also added to his disciplinary record, marking his first offence in a 24-month period.

According to the ICC rulebook, Arshdeep violated Article 2.9 of the Code of Conduct, which relates 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.”

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The sanction was proposed by ICC Elite Panel match referee Andy Pycroft and accepted by Arshdeep, meaning a formal hearing was not required. The charge was levelled by on-field umpires Richard Illingworth and Alex Wharf, third umpire Allahuddien Paleker and fourth umpire Adrian Holdstock.

What happened during the match

The incident occurred in the 11th over of New Zealand’s innings. After Daryl Mitchell played the ball back towards the bowler, Arshdeep picked it up and threw it in Mitchell’s direction. The ball struck Mitchell on the leg, briefly raising tensions on the field.

Mitchell approached the pacer to express his displeasure, but India captain Suryakumar Yadav stepped in to calm the situation. Later, Arshdeep spoke with Mitchell and clarified that he had no intention of hurting him.

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After the match, Arshdeep explained the moment while speaking to the host broadcaster. “My throw reverse-swung a bit too much, and it hit his body, so I told him that I didn’t hit him intentionally,” he said in a chat with Harsha Bhogle.

Despite the brief flashpoint, India went on to dominate the match and win the T20 World Cup title. Batting first, India posted a massive 255/5 in 20 overs. Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan all scored half-centuries to power the innings.

With the ball, Jasprit Bumrah led the attack with four wickets as New Zealand were bowled out for 159. India eventually secured a comfortable victory to lift the trophy and successfully defend their title.