PSL 2021: [Watch] Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Afridi engage in heated verbal exchange

Former Pakistan skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed and left-arm pacer Shaheen Afridi were engaged in a heated verbal duel in the PSL 2021 encounter between the Lahore Qalandars and the Quetta Gladiators in Abu Dhabi.

Sarfaraz Ahmed was batting in the penultimate over of the Gladiators’ innings when Shaheen Afridi banged the ball in short. Sarfaraz tried to pull the ball, but was hit flush on his helmet and made its way to the third man region.

Sarfaraz took the opportunity to take the single and went at the non-striker’s end and decided to have a go at young Afridi. This led to a war of words between the duo.

Here is the video of Sarfaraz Ahmed’s verbal duel with Shaheen Afridi:

Shaheen Afridi was also pumped up and decided to respond to Sarfaraz Ahmed’s dig. The pacer was initially returning to his bowling mark, but decided to confront Sarfaraz instead and the duo had to be separated by the umpires.

Players like Sohail Akhtar and the experienced Mohammad Hafeez also had to gather around the two to calm them down and get on with the game. The face-off sparked a debate over whether young Shaheen Afridi was right to respond aggressively to what his former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed had to say.

Many felt that the batsman could not be upset at the bowler for having bowled the bouncer at him. However, others opined that Afridi should have reacted in a respectful manner to a senior in the Pakistan team and also his former captain.

Sarfaraz Ahmed had the last laugh as his team beat the Qalandars rather comfortably in the end by 18 runs. This result dented the hopes of the Qalandars finishing on top spot in the league phase, while the Gladiators will hope to end their disappointing season on a high with more such performances.

How much are you enjoying Sportskeeda’s cricket coverage? Please spend 30 seconds answering this survey so that we can better understand how to serve your cricket needs