Former Afghanistan skipper Gulbadin Naib was fuming with anger after Asif Ali pushed Afghanistan pacer Fareed Ahmad Malik and raised his bat to hit him after getting out in the penultimate over of the Asia Cup Super 4 game.
“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,” Naib wrote in a tweet while tagging International Cricket Council (ICC) and Asian Cricket Council (ACC).
Former chief executive of Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB), Shafiq Stanikzai, vented out his anger and called for a ban on Asif for the rest of the tournament as well.
In the 19th over of the run chase, Asif mistimed a pull shot off left-arm pacer’s short delivery. He was caught by Karim Janat. All this while he was watching the ball and after the catch was completed, he turned and saw Malik celebrating aggressively right where he finished his run-up.
The celebration irked Asif and he pushed the pacer. As tempers flared in the middle, Asif raised his bat to hit the Afghan but his teammates and on-field umpires intervened. Malik said a few words as Asif walked back to the dressing room.
The video of the altercation between the two has been shared by many so far. Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar made a few comments after Naseem Shah won the match for Babar Azam-led side with two sensational sixes in the final over.
Akhtar’s tweet read, “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 (But misbehavior and arrogance led to their downfall).”
ICC is yet to announce any sanctions after the incident. However, it is expected that both Asif and Malik will be fined some percentage of their match fee for the ugly incident.
