3 most controversial moments in Asia Cup history

Asia Cup 2023 will begin on August 30 with a clash between two-time champions Pakistan and debutants Nepal. Four other teams, namely, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, will participate in the continental event.

It will be the first Asia Cup edition since 2018 to be played in the 50-over format. The last time Asia Cup took place in the ODI format was in the United Arab Emirates five years ago, where India defeated Bangladesh in the final to become the champions.

This year, Sri Lanka and Pakistan will host the tournament. Initially, the tournament was supposed to be held only in Pakistan, but due to off-field reasons, some of the matches had to be moved to the island nation.

Asia Cup started in 1984, and in the last 39 years, there have been some big controversies during the battles between the Asian rivals. Before the 2023 edition of the continental championship begins, here's a look at the top three controverises in the tournament's history.

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#1 Gautam Gambhir had a heated exchange with Kamran Akmal, Asia Cup 2010

The India vs Pakistan matches are the special attraction of this continental championship. The two arch-rivals always bring the best out of each other whenever they clash at the grand stage.

Back in 2010 when Sri Lanka last hosted the tournament, Pakistan and India had a thrilling encounter in Dambulla. Pakistan set a 268-run target for the Men in Blue. In reply, India reached 271/7 in 49.5 overs.

Gautam Gambhir won the Man of the Match award for his 97-ball 83. During a break in the Indian innings, Gambhir had a heated argument with Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal.

The umpires and Indian skipper MS Dhoni had to calm the two players down. Sharing details about that incident, Gambhir told Vikram Sathaye in 2016:

"I had tried to play and missed it fully. He appealed in such a way that he thought that the ball hit the bat. Then I told him that there is no point in appealing because nothing like that happened, we just got into a heated argument and then it just got from bad to worse.”

Gambhir always brought his 'A' game to the table against Pakistan. He smacked six fours and a six in that match.

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#2 Harbhajan Singh vs Shoaib Akhtar, Asia Cup 2010

Later in the same match, Harbhajan Singh and Shoaib Akhtar were involved in a controversy. When Singh smashed Akhtar for a six in the 47th over, the Pakistan pacer fired back with bouncers, leading to a verbal spat between the two. After that over, when Singh hit the winning six off Mohammad Amir's bowling, he gave Akhtar an intense look.

Speaking on the Helo app, Akhtar shared details of what happened after the match:

"I went looking for Harbhajan Singh in the hotel room to fight with him. He eats with us, roams around with us in Lahore, culture is similar to us, he is a Punjabi brother and yet he will misbehave with us?

"I thought I will go and fight with him in the hotel room. He knew that Shoaib was coming. But I couldn’t find him. I calmed down the next day and he had also apologised."

India won that contest by three wickets. It was a proper cricket classic for fans of the India vs Pakistan rivalry.

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#3 Asif Ali vs Fareed Ahmed, Asia Cup 2022

Pakistan vs Afghanistan seems to be the next top rivalry in the Asia Cup. The two teams competed in a nail-biting thriller last year in the UAE. Naseem Shah's two sixes in the last over helped the Men in Green record a memorable one-wicket victory.

Before Naseem's heroics, Afghanistan's Fareed Ahmed and Pakistan's batter Asif Ali had a heated confrontation. At one moment, it looked like Ali raised his bat to hit Ahmed.

It happened in the 19th over of Pakistan's innings. After Fareed picked up Asif's wicket, he celebrated aggressively, leading to an ugly response from the Pakistan batter.