Shaheen Afridi involved in heated exchange with his former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed during PSL tie: Watch video
Tempers flared between Pakistan fast bowler Shaheen Afridi and Sarfaraz Ahmed during Match 23 of the Pakistan Super League between Lahore Qalandars and Quetta Gladiators. The incident took place in the 19th over – the penultimate one – of the Gladiators' innings when a bouncer from Afridi hit Sarfraz on the helmet and it was signalled as a no-ball from the umpire.
The ball hit the former Pakistan captain on the helmet and went to third man as Sarfaraz and his partner Hassan Khan took a single. However, upon reached the non-striker's end, Sarfaraz had something to say to Afridi, which was not received by the young pacer too kindly. In fact, the left-arm quick, in an aggressive reaction, walked towards Sarfaraz for a face-off.
Afridi tried to get close to Sarfaraz but just when things looked like getting out of hands, the umpires intervened and cooler heads prevailed. Qalandars' Mohammad Hafeez and captain Sohail Akhtar joined in to cool the situation down. Even as the innings ended and the Qalandars walked out to bat, Sarfaraz was seen speaking to the umpire about the altercation with Afridi.
After the match, Afridi was asked about the incident to which the pacer replied saying it was all part of the game. However, what transpired did not go down too well with fans on Twitter pointing fingers at Afridi for a such a gesture towards his former Pakistan captain. This once again brings to light the equation between the youngsters and senior players in Pakistan cricket which Wasim Akram had recently touched upon. He had said that players need to show more respect towards seniors and coaches.
Sarfaraz however had the last laugh as the Gladiators pipped Qalandars by 18 runs. Jake Weatherald was the top scorer with 48 as the Gladiators posted 158/5 from their 20 overs. In reply, the Qalandars were bowled out for 140 with Tim David's 46 being the highest. Afridi went wicketless for 28 runs while Sarfaraz remained unbeaten on 34.
Sign on to read the HT ePaper epaper.hindustantimes.com
