Champions Trophy-winning former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed ignited a debate on social media with his critical tweet after the Men in Green's five-wicket loss against Team India in the second match of the ongoing Asia Cup tournament. The 35-year-old hit out at a female journalist for her comment regarding Pakistan being penalised for the slow over-rate and being restricted to just four fielders outside the 30-yard circle rather than the usual five allowed during their match against arch-rivals India.
In a tweet, Sarfaraz hinted that Pakistan maintained a slow over-rate because Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf suffered cramps in testing conditions at the Dubai International Stadium.
"Pak had the disadvantage after 17th over 5 fielders were inside the circle cuz of slow over rate & 1 of the so called female journalist on national TV bashing Pakistan team after a fighting match & saying na run karte hai na catch pakarte hai kamal hai bhi," he said in a tweet.
Interestingly, India also had only four boundary riders for the last two overs of their innings because of slow over-rate.
The Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter didn't reveal the name of the female journalist or the show in which she made the comments. His reaction, however, sparked a controversy on social media with several netizens blasting him for his take.
