ICC punishes South Africa spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba for waving goodbye to India's Harleen Deol during Women's ODI World Cup 2025 clash

The International Cricket Council (ICC) punished South Africa spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba with one demerit point for breaching the ICC's level one Code of Conduct during their Women's ODI World Cup 2025 clash against India at ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam.

Nonkululeko Mlaba's offence

South Africa defeated India by three wickets to hand the Women's in Blue their first loss of the tournament on Thursday.

"Mlaba 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 his/her dismissal during an International Match'," an ICC media release stated.

Why was Nonkululeko Mlaba punished?

The incident happened in the 17th over of India's innings, when Mlaba, after dismissing Harleen Deol, waved goodbye to the batter, which could have provoked an aggressive response from the batter.

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"In addition to this, one demerit point has been added to Mlaba’s disciplinary record, for whom it was the first offence in a 24-month period," the ICC said.

Mlaba admitted the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by Trudy Anderson of the ICC International Panel of Match Referees, so there was no need for a formal hearing.

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The charges were levelled by on-field umpires Jacquline Williams and Kim Cotton, third umpire Candace le Borde and fourth umpire Sue Redfern.

"Level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand, a maximum penalty of 50 per cent of a player’s match fee, and one or two demerit points," the ICC said.

India's upcoming ODI World Cup clash

Harmanpreet Kaur-led India will now face Australia in their fourth clash of the Women's ODI World Cup 2025, which will take place on October 12 at the same venue.