Asia Cup 2022: "This is stupidity at extreme level" - Gulbadin Naib slams Asif Ali as he almost hits Fareed Ahmed with the bat

Gulbadin Naib took a jibe at Pakistan batter Asif Ali, who almost hit Fareed Ahmed with the bat during their Super 4 clash against Afghanistan on Wednesday, September 7, in Sharjah. The former Afghan skipper stated that Ali should be banned for the remainder of Asia Cup 2022.

The game went down to the wire as momentum shifted from one side to the other. Afghanistan were cruising at one point, picking up six wickets for just 32 runs. Ali was the last Pakistan batter to be dismissed in the 19th over as the Men in Green lost the plot while chasing 130.

Ahmed banged it in short as Ali tried to pull it for a six. However, hurried by the pace of the deliveries, the right-handed batter could only top-edge it and the ball landed straight into the hands of the short fine-leg fielder.

The bowler gave a fiery send-off to the batter who turned around and tried to punch Fareed and also threatened to hit him with the bat. The umpire was quick to intervene and separate the two players.

The turn of events didn't go down well with many, including former Afghanistan skipper Naib, slamming the Pakistan batter for his antics. Taking to Twitter, he wrote:

"This is stupidity at extreme level by Asif Ali and should be ban from the rest of the tournament, any bowler has the right to celebrate but being physical is not acceptable at all. @icc @ACCMedia1."

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Pakistan edge out Afghanistan in cliffhanger to reach Asia Cup final

The equation was down to 11 runs off the last six balls, with Afghanistan's Fazalhaq Farooqi tasked with bowling the last over.

Afghanistan were in the driving seat as Pakistan had just one wicket in hand. But Naseem Shah smashed consecutive sixes off the first two balls of the over to seal the game in Pakistan's favor.

Following the win, the Men in Green booked their place in the final alongside Sri Lanka. The summit clash is scheduled to take place on Sunday, September 11.

India's final Super 4 game against the Afghans on Thursday, September 8, is now a dead rubber.