PCB to write to ICC to ‘lodge a protest’ over crowd trouble in Sharjah
The PCB will write to the ICC to “lodge a protest” over the crowd trouble and “gruesome visuals” that followed the Afghanistan-Pakistan game at the Asia Cup.
Addressing the media, PCB chairman Ramiz Raja said: “You can’t link hooliganism with cricket and this environment makes you sick. We will write to ICC, raise concerns, and do whatever we can because the visuals were gruesome.
“This [crowd trouble after an Afghanistan-Pakistan game] didn’t happen for the first time. Wins and losses are a part of the game. It was a gruelling contest, but emotions should have been kept in control. Until the environment is right, you can’t grow and go forward as a cricket-playing nation.
“So we are going to express our anguish and frustration to the ICC. We owe it to our fans, anything could have happened… Our team could have been in danger… So whatever the protocol is we will follow that and lodge our protest.”
Raja is also part of the ICC’s working committee tasked with reviewing the state of cricket and how it is run in Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover of the country last year.
Following a spectacular, see-sawing game in Sharjah, in which Afghanistan were fighting hard to stay in the tournament only for Pakistan’s last-wicket pair to dramatically clinch their own spot in the final, crowd trouble erupted in the stands. Several Afghanistan fans were detained by the Sharjah police following the incident. However, no arrests were made.
Tempers flared as soon as Pakistan brought up victory courtesy Naseem Shah’s twin sixes in the final over. In the aftermath, fans, believed to be Afghanistan supporters, began throwing punches at people wearing Pakistan jerseys.
ESPNcricinfo understands the trigger for the incident was Asif Ali’s run-in with Afghanistan fast bowler Fareed Ahmad after he had been dismissed. A visibly charged-up Fareed threw celebratory air-punches very close to Asif’s face, who responded by pushing Fareed back and raising his bat at his face. Both players exchanged heated words before Afghanistan’s Azmatullah Umarzai and Pakistan’s Hasan Ali stepped in to calm things down.
Footage captured in the stands also showed fans pulling out bucket seats and flinging them at each other. Cushioned seats were also torn up. Considerable damage had been done by the time the ground authorities and the police swung into action. The organisers quickly ushered the public out of the stadium to prevent any further damage.
