Captain T20i of Pakistan Salman Ali Agha expressed his concerns concerning the controversial dismissal of the opener Fakhar Zaman during the Cup of the Super Four of the ACC Men’s Asia T20 2025 against India at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
Addressing a press conference after the second successive defeat of Pakistan against India in the tournament, Agha expressed its reserves on the decision.
“I do not know the decision. As far as I am concerned, it seemed that the ball has bounded before being collected. Obviously, it is the work of the referee and they can make mistakes. I have no problem with that. But for me, it seemed to have rebounded,” said Agha.
“I could be wrong, I don’t know. The way Fakhar was hit, if he had continued through the power game, we could probably have scored around 190,” he added.
The incident took place during the third delivery of the third on the Pakistan rounds. Fakhar Zaman tried to lead to a dropout of Hhelik Pandya, bordering the ball to the goalkeeper Sanju Samson.
Delivery, however, has lost the rhythm of the field, forcing Samson to dive forward to take the catch.
Given the proximity of the ball to the ground at the collection point, the referees on the ground returned the decision to the third referee. Fakhar, seemingly confident that the ball had touched the lawn, waited for the verdict.
After several reruns from several angles, the third referee Richira Palliyaguruge deemed Fakhar. The left -handed was temporarily incredulous before returning to the pavilion.
On his return, he was seen discussing the decision with head coach Mike Hesson, apparently surprised by the result.
The dismissal immediately sparked a debate on social networks, fans and former players criticizing the arbitration standards of the very publicized meeting.
Former Pakistani cricket players Mohammad Hafez, Mohammad Amir and Fawad Alam were among those who strongly condemned the decision, calling “unacceptable” in a match of such magnitude.
Meanwhile, India won its second victory over Pakistan in the current tournament.
Beating first, the green shirts displayed 171-5 in 20 overs, but the men in blue managed to chase the target in 18.5 overtime with four counters in hand, thanks to the opening of the ABHISHEK SHARMA opener of 74 balls on 39 balls.
For UNIVERSED, India will face Bangladesh in its next match in the same place on Wednesday.
