- Afghanistan’s Fareed Ahmed and Pakistan’s Asif Ali involved in violent mid-pitch altercation on September 7, 2022.
- Babar Azam’s men beat Afghan bowlers by one wicket to reach Asia Cup 2022 final.
- Both players found guilty of violating International Code of Conduct Level 1.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has sanctioned Pakistan’s Asif Ali and Afghanistan’s Fareed Ahmed for their mid-pitch altercation on September 7, 2022, at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, where Babar Azam’s men defeated Mohammad Nabi and co by one wicket to eliminate them and India from the Asia Cup 2022 tournament.
Pakistan’s pursuit of 130 to win the game and qualify for the final was hampered by regular wicket falls, with Fazalhaq Farooqi and Fareed Ahmed picking 3/31 each, and Rashid Khan taking 2/25.
Pakistan required 11 runs in the last over and had one wicket in hand. Naseem Shah was the Men in Green’s hero, hitting two sixes on consecutive balls to propel Pakistan to the Asia Cup 2022 final, where they will face Sri Lanka on September 11.
Fareed Ahmed and Asif Ali were found guilty of violating Level 1 of the International Code of Conduct.
During the 19th over of the chase, Asif Ali hit Fareed for a massive six, which the Afghan bowlers didn’t enjoy. Fareed had Asif caught by Karim Janat at the next ball and celebrated with zeal and some extra spice, giving Asif a mouthful as a sendoff.
In response, Asif shoved Fareed away and threatened to beat him with the bat before umpires and players intervened.
Because of the violent altercation, the ICC penalised both players for violating Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct. For an altercation, the two were penalised 25% of their match earnings.
Asif was found to have violated Article 2.6 of the International Cricket Council’s Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which prohibits “using a gesture that is obscene, offensive or insulting during an International Match” while Fareed was found to have violated Article 2.1.12, which prohibits “inappropriate physical contact with a Player, Player Support Personnel, Umpire, Match Referee or any other person (including a spectator) during an International Match.”
The players recognised their mistake and agreed to the punishments imposed by match referee Andy Pycroft.
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