There was no love lost in the Valentine’s Day match between Quetta Gladiators and Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League. An ugly incident took place in the fifth over of the Gladiators’ innings, following the wicket of Ahmed Shehzad.
Shehzad, who has recently been dropped from the Pakistan squad, hit Wahab Riaz for a six over mid-wicket off the first ball of the fifth over. Riaz, who is well known for fighting fire with fire, knocked over Shehzad’s stumps off the very next ball, with a well-disguised slower delivery.
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He then let out a huge scream, and looked the batsman in the eye. Shehzad, not one to back away either, pointed his bat towards the bowler and said something. The players then came together, and it looked as if Riaz then gave the harder push. Teammates gathered around to diffuse the situation.
Afridi was seen calming down Riaz, while Shehzad’s batting partner stepped in to stop him from reacting to Riaz’s shove. Kumar Sangakkara was the unlucky victim of Riaz’s continuing wrath, as he skidded the fourth ball of the same over on to his stumps, becoming PSL’s leading wicket taker in the process.
After-effects of the clash
The two continued their verbal exchanges even after that, but it was Wahab who had the last laugh – he finished with figures of 2/19 as his side Peshawar Zalmi won by 8 wickets. The clash between two high-profile Pakistan national team players is not good publicity for the fledgling Pakistan Super League.
The PCB has fined Riaz 40% of his match fees and Shehzad 30% of his on charges of ‘inappropriate physical contact’ during Sunday’s match.
Following the match, Ahmed Shehzad’s agent came out with some serious allegations against Wahab Riaz, which are yet to be verified:
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