Former Pakistan captain, Rashid Latif, believes that explosive middle-order batter, Asif Ali, might get banned for 4-5 matches by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for his altercation with Afghanistan pacer, Fareed Ahmed, during a thrilling match between the two sides in the 2022 Asia Cup.
The incident between Asif and Fareed occurred during the penultimate over of the match as Fareed hurled abuses at Asif after dismissing him during a crunch situation. Asif responded by pushing him away but Fareed’s continuous unsavory comments provoked Asif to raise his bat at the bowler. After realizing the gravity of the situation, Asif headed back to the pavilion without any further retaliation.
Rashid Latif believes that ICC will not tolerate such behavior and will slap a major suspension. Rashid stated that if Asif is found guilty of the offense, then he should be banned for a few matches.
Former wicket-keeper batter remarked that a similar incident occurred with the former all-rounder, Shahid Afridi, who was slapped with a 4-match ban back in 2007 for raising his bat towards his opponent.
He further stated that both the players are guilty of offenses and should face the consequences for their immature behavior. Latif’s comments were supported by former Pakistan women captain, Sana Mir, who stated that there is no room for such incidents in cricket and both the players should be rightly punished for their actions.
