Islamabad
\nThe PCB will write to the ICC to \u201clodge a protest\u201d over the crowd trouble and \u201cgruesome visuals\u201d that followed the Afghanistan-Pakistan game at the Asia Cup.
\nAddressing the media, PCB chairman Ramiz Raja said: \u201cYou can\u2019t link hooliganism with cricket and this environment makes you sick. We will write to ICC, raise concerns, and do whatever we can because the visuals were gruesome.
\n\u201cThis [crowd trouble after an Afghanistan-Pakistan game] didn\u2019t happen for the first time.
\nWins and losses are a part of the game. It was a gruelling contest, but emotions should have been kept in control. Until the environment is right, you can\u2019t grow and go forward as a cricket-playing nation.
\n\u201cSo we are going to express our anguish and frustration to the ICC. We owe it to our fans, anything could have happened… Our team could have been in danger… So whatever the protocol is we will follow that and lodge our protest.\u201d
\nRaja is also part of the ICC\u2019s working committee tasked with reviewing the state of cricket and how it is run in Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover of the country last year.
\nFollowing a spectacular, see-sawing game in Sharjah, in which Afghanistan were fighting hard to stay in the tournament only for Pakistan\u2019s last-wicket pair to dramatically clinch their own spot in the final, crowd trouble erupted in the stands. Several Afghanistan fans were detained by the Sharjah police following the incident. However, no arrests were made.
\nTempers flared as soon as Pakistan brought up victory courtesy Naseem Shah\u2019s twin sixes in the final over. In the aftermath, fans, believed to be Afghanistan supporters, began throwing punches at people wearing Pakistan jerseys.
\nESPNcricinfo understands the trigger for the incident was Asif Ali\u2019s run-in with Afghanistan fast bowler Fareed Ahmad after he had been dismissed. A visibly charged-up Fareed threw celebratory air-punches very close to Asif\u2019s face, who responded by pushing Fareed back and raising his bat at his face. Both players exchanged heated words before Afghanistan\u2019s Azmatullah Umarzai and Pakistan\u2019s Hasan Ali stepped in to calm things down.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Islamabad The PCB will write to the ICC to \u201clodge a protest\u201d over the crowd trouble and \u201cgruesome visuals\u201d that followed the Afghanistan-Pakistan game at the Asia Cup. Addressing the media, PCB chairman Ramiz Raja said: \u201cYou can\u2019t link hooliganism with cricket and this environment makes you sick. We will write to ICC, raise concerns, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":125691,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[866],"class_list":{"0":"post-282372","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-pcb"},"yoast_head":"\n