Asia Cup 2022: Game Should Be Played And Taken In Right Spirit - Shoaib Akhtar Slams Afghanistan After Fans Vandalise Stadium, Throw Chairs At Pakistanis

Pakistan defeated Afghanistan by one wicket in a nail-biting Super 4 match at Sharjah. In a match that swung both ways, Pakistan won because of Naseem Shah, who hit two consecutive sixes off Afghanistan’s left-arm seamer Fazalhaq Farooqi in the final over. This victory for Pakistan secured a place in the final.

Until Naseem Shah’s astonishing heroics with the bat, Afghanistan looked set for an upset. Enraged by the defeat, Afghan fans started destroying chairs in the stadium. Some video recordings also show them behaving violently towards Pakistani fans.

Afghanistan fans’ aggressive reaction irritated former fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar.

Shoaib Akhtar Shafiq Stanikzai Exchanged Words On Twitter

The former speedster also tagged the former CEO of the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB), Shafiq Stanikzai, in his Twitter post and wrote, “This is what Afghan fans are doing. This is what they’ve done in the past multiple times. This is a game and it’s supposed to be played and taken in the right spirit. @ShafiqStanikzai your crowd & your players both need to learn a few things if you guys want to grow in the sport.”

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.@ShafiqStanikzai your crowd & your players both need to learn a few things if you guys want to grow in the sport. pic.twitter.com/rg57D0c7t8

— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) September 7, 2022

“Your crowd & your players both need to learn a few things if you guys want to grow in the sport ”he added.

Stanikzai reacted to the “Rawalpindi Express,” telling him not to question the entire nation over one act.

“You can’t control the emotions of the crowd and such incidents happened in the world of cricket multiple, you should go ask Kabir Khan, Inzimam Bhai and @iRashidLatif68 how we treated them. Am giving you an advice next time baat ko nation pe Mat lena (Next time don’t talk about the nation).”

You can’t control the emotions of the crowd and such incidents happened in the world of cricket multiple, you should go ask Kabir Khan, Inzimam Bhai and @iRashidLatif68 how we treated them. Am giving you an advice next time baat ko nation pe Mat lena https://t.co/JQTgzWBNqL

— Shafiq Stanikzai (@ShafiqStanikzai) September 7, 2022

Stanikzai also posted another tweet, which featured an image from the Pakistan-Afghanistan match, with players from both countries smiling and laughing. 

“Our motive always been to spread love, that’s why our team earned the respect worldwide.”

Pakistan Secures A Place In The Asia Cup Final With A Thrilling Victory Over Afghanistan

In Wednesday’s Asia Cup 2022 Super 4 match against Afghanistan, Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat. Mohammad Nabi’s men were restricted to a score of 129 for 6.

At 87 for 3, Pakistan seemed to be in a good position to win. The chasing side was lifted by a 42-run partnership between Shadab Khan (36) and Iftikhar Ahmed (30).

Farooqi (3/31), Fareed Ahmad (3/31) and Rashid Khan (2/25), on the other hand, got Afghanistan back into the game before Naseem Shah’s twin sixes ended the game.

Also Read: Asia Cup 2022: Asif Ali Should Be Banned From The Rest Of The Tournament- Former ACB CEO Shafiq Stanikzai After Asif Ali Raising Bat At Fareed Ahmad