Published 16:26 IST, February 25th 2021
Shahid Afridi complains to ICC on Twitter, slams world cricket body's new COVID-19 rule
Shahid Afridi complained to the ICC on social media where he criticised the governing body's new rule that has been implemented as a part of COVID-19 protocols
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Former Pakistani skipper Shahid Afridi expressed his disappointment to the International Cricket Council (ICC) regarding its new rule which states that the on-field umpires should not hold the bowler’s cap, sweater, or sunglasses while bowling as a part of COVID-19 protocols/restrictions.
'Wondering why...' : Shahid Afridi
It so happened that Afridi, who is currently representing Multan Sultans in the ongoing edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) was not happy after the on-field umpire had refused to take his cap when he had come out to bowl. The incident took place during Multan's league match against Peshawar Zalmi at the National Stadium, Karachi on Tuesday as a result of which 'Lala'decided to escalate the issue on social media by tagging the governing body of world cricket.
Taking to the micro-blogging site, the veteran all-rounder wrote he wondered why the umpires are not allowed to hold bowlers cap even though they are in the same bubble as the players/management and even shake hands at the end of the game.
Dear @ICC wondering why the umpires are not allowed to hold bowlers cap even though they are in the same bubble as the players/management and even shake hands at the end of the game? 🤷♂️
— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) February 24, 2021
Peshawar win a last-over thriller
Coming back to the contest, the Sultans were restricted to 193/4 from their 20 overs riding on some stellar tp-order contributions from skipper and wicket-keeper batsman Mohammad Rizwan (41) and Englishman James Vince (84).
In reply, the top three of the Peshawar Zalmi Imam-ul-Haq (48), Kamran Akmal (37), and, Tom Kohler-Cadmore (53) made easy work of the run chase before things seemed to be out of control after a small middle-order collapse. Nonetheless, the middle-order duo of the experienced Shoaib Malik and Haider Ali ensured that Multan Sultans did not pull off an upset win with a vital 37-run fifth-wicket stand in the death overs as Peshawar got past the finish line by six wickets and an over to spare.
Shahid Afridi did not get a chance to bat and went wicketless by conceding 38 runs from his 4 overs at an economy rate of 9.50.
16:26 IST, February 25th 2021