Shahid Afridi rebukes Afghan cricketer after his on-field spat with Amir

The Lanka Premier League saw tempers flare when Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir had an on-field face-off with out-of-line Afghan cricketer Naveen-ul-Haq and Shahid Afridi also got into the mix after the match.

Six matches into the Lanka Premier League 2020, and the tournament has already seen some fine performances on the field.

Kandy Tuskers beat Galle Gladiators by 25 runs in Hambantota the other day, but the match was overshadowed by couple of on-field skirmishes started by the Afghan cricketer.

In the 18th over of the game, Naveen was smashed for a boundary by Amir on the fourth delivery of the over before the pacer bounced back and delivered a dot on the 5th ball. The Afghan pacer seemed to have crossed his line a bit and abused Amir after the penultimate delivery of the over. 

The incident saw Amir and Naveen having a fiery exchange but that wasn't the end of it. The 20th over of the match produced similar scenes and this time it was Gladiators skipper Afridi deciding to speak to Naveen. 

Afridi seemed to be greeting everyone with a smile after the match was over but when he came across Naveen, the veteran custodian of the game had a grim look on his face. It was then that the veteran all-rounder reportedly told the Afghan rookie: "Son I was scoring 100s in international cricket before you were born".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dguq2HJSmg
Afridi later took to social media to comment on the incident. "My advice to the young player was simple, play the game and don't indulge in abusive talk," he tweeted. "I have friends in Afghanistan team and we have very cordial relations. Respect for teammates and opponents is the basic spirit of the game," he added.

On Monday, Brendan Taylor and Kusal Mendis starred with the bat for Kandy Tuskers, helping them post 196 for five. 

In the chase, Danushka Gunathilaka smashed a 53-ball 82 but found no support from his teammates. Afridi was dismissed for a golden duck as the Gladiators could only manage 171 for seven in their quota of 20 overs. 

Afridi's Galle Gladiators have had a nightmare start to their LPL 2020 campaign. They have played three matches and lost all three to occupy last place in the LPL points table. The Gladiators are the only team to not win even a single match this season. 

Kandy Tuskers themselves have had a torrid time, but registered their first win of the tournament on Monday. They climbed to third spot in the five-team table with a win in three games. 

Currently, Jaffna Stallions lead the points table, with two wins out of two, followed by Colombo Kings, who have also won both their matches so far.