Shaheen Afridi, the star Pakistan pacer, was involved in a heated on-field exchange with South African batter Matthew Breetzke during the Pakistan vs South Africa 3rd ODI match of the tri-series in Pakistan on February 12 (Wednesday). In what is a virtual semi-final clash at the National Stadium in Karachi, the altercation between Afridi and Breetzke occurred twice in the same over, forcing the on-field umpire to intervene.
The incident began on the fourth ball of the 28th over when Breetzke turned the ball delivered by Afridi to mid-on and gestured the bat towards the fielder. This did not sit well with Afridi and walked down the pitch and had a few words with Breetzke. Both were seen exchanging words and the left-arm pacer appeared visibly irritated.
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On the next ball, the Protea batter tucked the ball towards the deep square leg and ran for a single but while running between the wickets, he nearly collided with Afridi, prompting an animated reaction from the left-arm pacer, who approached Breetzke for a confrontation. Things intensified as Afridi and Breetzke stood face-to-face, exchanging heated words. This led to intervention from Mohammad Rizwan, Temba Bavuma and the umpire to diffuse the situation. Pakistan player Khusdil Shah also ran across and pushed Breetzke away, before the umpire intervened again.The umpires seemingly cautioned Pakistan against unsporting behavior as tensions continued to rise with every passing moment.
A viral video on social media captured the heated exchange, with both Afridi and Breetzke getting in each other’s faces before teammates intervened.
Watch the video of Shaheen Shah Afridi and Matthew Breetzke on-field altercation here:
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The intense drama didn’t end there, escalating further when South Africa captain Temba Bavuma was run out in the very next over. Kamran Ghulam celebrated right in front of Bavuma, with Saud Shakeel joining in before Salman Agha stepped in to push them away. The South African skipper had to pause his walk back, waiting for the Pakistani players to clear his path.
Watch the video here:
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