Pakistan cricket team captain Sarfraz Ahmed is in the dock after he made racial comments against South Africa’s Andile Phehlukwayo in the second ODI match on January 22. The recent reports have suggested that the International Cricket Council (ICC) has already begun the investigations into the matter and Sarfraz is likely to be banned for four ODIs or two Tests, as per the rulings.

South African team manager Mohammed Moosajee informed the local media that an investigation has already been started by the governing body and concerned match officials, after which there will be a decision soon. Sarfraz Ahmed Racist Comment Row: Shoaib Akhtar Asks Him to Apologise to Andile Phehlukwayo Publicly; Former Pacer Later Deletes Video.

Moosajee said, “The ICC and the match officials have noted the alleged incident. They have started the necessary procedures to investigate the matter. We can only comment once we have received the results of the investigation. Any further clarification/updates have to go through the ICC.”

If the Pakistani skipper is found guilty of this offence, he is likely to be handed suspension points (four to eight) which will see him suspended for a minimum of either four ODI or two Test matches. If it happens, Sarfraz would no longer be a part of the ongoing ODI series against South Africa and also miss the first of three T20I games on tour. Pakistan Cricket Board Decries Sarfraz Ahmed’s Racial Slur Against Andile Phehlukwayo.

Earlier, Sarfraz Ahmed had called the South African all-rounder ‘kaala’ (black), which was unexpectedly caught on the stump mic. The wicketkeeper-batsman was heard saying, “Abey kale! Teri ammi aaj kahaan baithe hain….” The footage of the incident went viral on social media in no time, as the 31-year-old faced severe backlash by angry fans.

However, the Pakistani captain had apologised for his remarks soon after the public backlash. Sarfraz Ahmed took to microblogging site Twitter and tendered an apology, saying that his comments were ‘not directed towards anyone in particular’. Sarfraz Ahmed APOLOGISES for Racial Comment; Says, He Had No Intentions of Upsetting Anyone.

South Africa captain Faf du Plessis downplayed the incident and said, “We forgive him because he said sorry. He has apologised and taken responsibility for it. It is out of our hands and ICC will have to deal with it now.”

Pakistan and South Africa are scheduled to play the third ODI match on January 25. It will be interesting to see if either of ICC or Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) take any action or announce any verdict on the issue or not. Stay tuned with us for the latest updates about South Africa vs Pakistan 2019 ODI Series!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 25, 2019 09:47 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).