Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf showed aggression in the previous India vs Pakistan match. The fast bowling duo didn’t just show spice with the ball, but engaged in verbal encounters with Abhishek Sharma and Shubman.
Haris Rauf & Sahibzada Farhan’s theatrics
Although Shaheen restricted him to just sledging, Haris took things to a whole other level. He made offensive gestures as a response to getting heckled by Indian fans in the crowd.
This didn’t sit well with the Indian public or the ICC, who have reportedly fined Haris 30% of his match fee, and the PCB has appealed against it. But that wasn’t all. In the first innings, Sahibzada Farhan had celebrated his half-century by firing a gun with his bat. Which wasn’t taken lightly either.
Will Pakistan tone themselves down for the Asia Cup final?
These antics had made more headlines than Pakistan’s performance. Before the Asia Cup final, Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha was asked about whether he’ll tell his team to tone it down or not. To which he responded that he won’t.
“Every individual has their way. If a player wants to show aggression on the field, why not? If you take a fast bowler’s aggression from them, what do they have left?” Salman told reporters on the eve of the India vs Pakistan final.
In fact, the all-rounder even said that he’ll give his players a free hand to act as they please, unless they cross the line. It’s safe to assume that the September 28 clash will be charged up and that Salman might be responsible for how his team acts.
“Every player in the team knows how to handle their emotions. As a captain, I give my players a free hand. They can react however they want until they don’t disrespect someone or do something that’s disrespectful to our nation. I have no issues if they remain in that limit,” he added.
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