For the next series between the two nations in Sharjah, Najam Sethi has warned the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) to keep their players’ behaviour under control.
Asif Ali and Afghan fast bowler Fareed Ahmad Malik were seen exchanging sharp words during the two sides’ Asia Cup match last year in Sharjah. The other players and umpires on the pitch had to step in after Fareed shoved Asif, which caused the batter to be seen raising his bat at the speedster.
“I had a chat with Afghanistan officials in Dubai about crowd control and their players’ behavior. What is guarantee about managing your fans and fans, because past experiences haven’t been good,” Sethi said.
“We told Afghanistan Board to control their players. Winning and losing is part of the game. We have experience about winning and losing so we can control our emotions, but they are new to international cricket, so they need to keep their players in check,” he added.
During the aforementioned match, Afghan fans were seen hitting Pakistan fans after the match with chairs as their team lost a close encounter.
“There were two assurances. UAE authorities have made a new plan, in which they will try their best that Pakistan fans and Afghanistan fans won’t sit together,” Sethi said.
“In addition to that, strict action will be taken against rowdiness from people. There will be strict security in Sharjah,” he added.
