West Indies batsman Nicholas Pooran has been suspended for four matches by the ICC for “changing the condition of the ball” during the third ODI between West Indies and Afghanistan in Lucknow.

Pooran was charged with violating Article 2.14 of the ICC code of conduct for players and player support personnel after video footage displayed him scratching the ball with his thumbnail.

The 24-year-old admitted to the offence and accepted the sanction proposed by match referee Chris Broad. Alongside missing West Indies’ next four T20Is, five demerit points have been added to his record.

Pooran will now miss the entirety of West Indies’ upcoming T20I series against Afghanistan, as well as one match against India in their following series.

“I want to issue a sincere apology to my teammates, supporters and the Afghanistan team for what transpired on the field of play,” Pooran was quoted as saying in a statement from the ICC. “I recognise that I made an extreme error in judgement and I fully accept the ICC penalty.”

“I want to assure everyone that this is an isolated incident and it will not be repeated. I promise to learn from this and come back stronger and wiser.”