Pakistan batter Asif Ali and Afghanistan bowler Fareed Ahmad were involved in a heated altercation during the two nations’ thrilling Super 4 clash in Asia Cup 2022 in Sharjah on Wednesday.
A furious argument broke out between Pakistan batter Asif Ali and Afghanistan bowler Fareed Ahmad during the two countries' gripping Super 4 match on Wednesday at the Asia Cup 2022 in Sharjah.
In the 19th over of the high-octane clash, Asif was dismissed by Fareed immediately after smashing him for a six. After clinching the crucial wicket, the Afghan bowler celebrated animatedly right in front of Asif, who in return pushed Fareed back. When the bowler countered, the Pakistani batter almost hit him with the bat before the other Afghanistan players intervened to calm the situation on the ground.
Dear we request pic.twitter.com/kb40eCALxA
— صدیق افغان (@Sadeeq_Afghan06)Following this spat, Naseem Shah struck two telling sixes in the final over as Pakistan defeated Afghanistan by one wicket in a tense encounter that resulted in India getting knocked out of the tournament.
Pakistan vice-captain Shadab Khan, who top scored with 36 runs, played down the on-field altercation, saying it happened 'in the heat of the moment' and was best left on the field. Meanwhile, Afghanistan skipper who was fielding in the deep stated that he had no clue what happened in the middle.
However, the incident sparked violence among fans in the stand, with certain videos on social media showing fans using stadium seats to beat each other up.
Afghanistan's cricket fans are talking about , but what they are doing 👇 pic.twitter.com/n46gvicYeA
— Ali Hasan Lodhi🇵🇰 (@AlihasanLodhi)Former chief executive of the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB), Shafiq Stanikzai, lashed out at Asif Ali for his actions and stated that the Pakistan batter's reaction was nothing but 'stupidity'. Stanikzai also demanded that Asif should be banned from the rest of the ongoing championship.
“This is stupidity at extreme level by Asif Ali and should be ban from the rest of the tournament. Any bowler has the right to celebrate, but being physical is not acceptable at all," Stanikzai wrote on Twitter.
This is stupidity at extreme level by Asif Ali and should be ban from the rest of the tournament, any bowler has the right to celebrate but being physical is not acceptable at all https://t.co/ebnqSaRRmD
— Shafiq Stanikzai (@ShafiqStanikzai)Earlier, legendary Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar came out in defence of his team and stated that Afghanistan lost the match due to their ‘arrogant’ behaviour.
“Afghan players put right back into their place by 19 year old kid Naseem Shah. Unforgettable match against people we have loved & supported always. Lekin bat tamizi aur arrogance nay un no foran neecha dikhaya,” Shoaib Akhtar wrote.
Afghan players put right back into their place by 19 year old kid Naseem Shah. Unforgettable match against people we have loved & supported always.
Lekin bat tamizi aur arrogance nay un no foran neecha dikhaya.
Full video: https://t.co/u3LsS2GfrD pic.twitter.com/X6Obdq35bj
This is what Afghan fans are doing.
This is what they've done in the past multiple times.This is a game and its supposed to be played and taken in the right spirit. your crowd & your players both need to learn a few things if you guys want to grow in the sport. pic.twitter.com/rg57D0c7t8
Afghanistan was firmly in control of the match till the last over, reducing Pakistan to 118 for nine. But, Naseem had other plans as he hit Fazalhaq Farooqi for two consecutive sixes to send both Afghanistan and India out of the reckoning for a final berth.
With two wins from as many games, both Pakistan and Sri Lanka have sealed their places in the tournament's final to be held on Sunday. India and Afghanistan will lock horns in their final Super 4 match on Thursday, which has been rendered inconsequential.
Also read: Asia Cup 2022, IND vs AFG: Can Afghanistan be a pain in the back for India?
Meanwhile, #BanAsifAli has been trending on Twitter since the incident occurred, with some users also coming in support of the Pakistan batter stating it was Fareed Ahmad who provoked him. Here's a look at some of the reactions on the micro-blogging site:
Pakistan has shown the real face to the world today that we were terrorists, terrorists and will remain terrorists. In the last year too, Asif Ali had done his bullying and even today he has shown his arrogance.
Copy To pic.twitter.com/44SQHphIy4
As a cricketer I am totally against this act
Asif Ali is 30 years old mature guy and still doesn’t know how to punch properly❤️👊 pic.twitter.com/06ibrQYwrq
naseem shah to Fareed pic.twitter.com/BwSMpAhUEH
— zain ul abideen (@ZainUlA67742871)Dear This is an Insult to Cricket, We Want Asif Ali Banned pic.twitter.com/bDW2ecrjoZ
— Badam Ahmadzai(افغان) (@BadamAh1)
How we treated How thy behaved pic.twitter.com/kGuIbFxJsC
Nase you beauty 🥵
Never mess with 🇵🇰 pic.twitter.com/tolHMbhyHV
It’s not the first time this Pakistani cricketer misbehaved on the ground, last time in a match he pointed his bat as Gun & today he was trying to hit Afghan Player with his bat, extremely disgraceful & unethical. SHAME. pic.twitter.com/tDhvFTjWo7
— Khalid Amiri - خالد امیري (@KhalidAmiri01)Born & raised in war & still not raising a hand or weapon(bat).
Verbal arguments have always been part of games but raising bat to hit another player is shameful.
pic.twitter.com/35SAgs6yze
Shameful act by . should ban for the rest of his tournament.. pic.twitter.com/qSfc5Jzobr
— Wahidullah Dost (@lovelydost3)Terrorist Is Always Terrorist pic.twitter.com/wVW7HIwNyj
— Hassam Pashteen (@Hassampashteen)Terrorists will always be terrorists
ICC - International Cricket Council pic.twitter.com/haVzGWl3DH
It’s not the first time this Pakistani cricketer misbehaved on the ground, last time in a match he pointed his bat as Gun & today he was trying to hit Afghan Player Farid with his bat, extremely disgraceful & unethical. SHAME!!! pic.twitter.com/qVTVnHr3mm
— Saeedullah Safi (@SaeedullahSafi7)My name is Pablo and I call on to for turning the game of love into a battlefield. pic.twitter.com/NElAoxrnHm
— Pablo (@PablooGul)This is cricket not Bajwa terrorists training camp, is requested to take action against him. pic.twitter.com/zA18aILK07
— Mansour Sahak (@Mansour_sahak)We request do not let the extremists to play Cricket its a gentleman’s game not…. pic.twitter.com/ClgHUTV1Vz
— ʏᴀᴢɪ ᴋʜᴀɴ (@Abdaliafghan111)First look who started abusing if anyone should be banned it is the bowler name I don't know Farid or whatever he should be banned becouse started. pic.twitter.com/X50kqmXDeX
— Zaman Mustafa (@Zamanmustafa19)