Nepal’s Rohit Kumar Paudel has been fined 15 percent of his match fee for breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct during the final of the ACC Men’s Premier Cup against the UAE in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Saturday, the ICC informed on Tuesday.

With a place in the 2027 Asia Cup at stake, the two arch-rivals were competing for the title and the qualification spot.

During the first innings, Paudel, while batting in the 31st over, was involved in a heated argument with UAE’s Adeeb Usmani.

“...Adeeb and Paudel got into a heated argument and did not adhere to the instructions of the umpires, who were trying to diffuse the situation,” the ICC said. “Adeeb and Paudel were both fined 15 percent of their match fee for the same incident after they were found to have breached Article 2.4 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to ‘Disobeying an Umpire’s instruction during an International Match’.”

Level 1 breaches carry a minimum penalty of an official reprimand and a maximum penalty of 50 percent of a player’s match fee, along with one or two demerit points.

UAE’s Khuzaima Tanveer was also fined 10 percent of his match fee for a separate incident during the final.

The incident occurred in the 46th over of the UAE innings, when Khuzaima hit the stumps with his bat after being dismissed.

“He was found to have breached Article 2.2 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which relates to ‘abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fittings during an International Match’,” the governing body of international cricket said.

On-field umpires Kalidas Viswanathan and Tabarak Dar, along with reserve umpire Vinod Babu, levelled the charges.

The ICC also added one demerit point each to the disciplinary records of all three players. The trio had not previously accumulated any demerit points during the 24 months.

When a player reaches four or more demerit points within 24 months, they are converted into suspension points, which can result in a ban.

The ICC said no formal hearings were required because all three players admitted their offences and accepted the sanctions proposed by Ali Naqvi of the Emirates ICC International Panel of Match Referees.