'Hamari team khatre mein ho sakti thi', PCB chief Ramiz Raja makes a BIG statement after Afghanistan and Pakistan fans' clash

Source: Twitter

After the Pakistan vs Afghanistan clash of the Asia Cup 2022 that took place in Sharjah on Wednesday night (September 7), there were some ugly scenes seen in the stands of the cricket stadium with fans from both the countries engaged in a fist fight. There were seats thrown as several incidents of violence were reported. Not to forget, even on the pitch, Afghanistan bowler Fareed Malik and Pakistan batter Asif Ali were seen engaged in a physical fight. Asif even raises his bat to almost hit the Afghan bowler. 

A day later, Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ramiz Raja has made bold statements, saying that he would take the matter of fans' clashes to ICC. PCB believes that it was the Afghan fans who beat Pakistan fans and that these instances are not welcome in the sport.    

"You don't identify hooliganism with cricket. You don't want such an atmosphere inside the cricket stadium. PCB will write a letter to ICC and raise the issue because the visuals were not nice. They were terrible. This has not happened for the first time. It was a good contest. Players need to keep a check on their emotions. That is why we will bring this issue to ICC's notice and raise our concern," said Raja while addressing a press conference on Thursday. 

He added that the incident is very big and even the players could have been hurt if the matter was not taken care of instantly. He said, "Kuch bhi ho sakta tha, hamari team khatre mein ho sakti thi (Anything could have happened, our team could have been in danger)."

PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja comments on the crowd trouble in last night's match between Pakistan and Afghanistan.#AsiaCup2022 pic.twitter.com/CgUVJoMBkh

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) September 8, 2022

Pakistan are to play Afghanistan again in the warm-up game ahead of the T20 World Cup 2022. A journalist questioned Raja on the possible cancellation of that match in wake of the clashes. Raja said that he has no idea whether the match schedule can be changed or not but he will bring it to notice of the fans.   

"I don't know if we can change the schedule or not because it is a practice match and not a tournament match. But we will show our anguish and frustration to ICC," said Raja.