Shahid Afridi’s Dig At Match Officials After Fakhar Zaman’s Dismissal: ‘He Has To Do Umpiring In IPL’ | Cricket News

Shahid Afridi (right) indicated biasness. (Screengra/PTI)

Pakistan continue to vent their frustration after another big defeat to India in the ongoing Asia Cup 2025. Former allrounder Shahid Afridi is the latest to join the list after taking a dig at the umpires, claiming bias following the dismissal of Fakhar Zaman during a Super Four match between India and Pakistan on Sunday.

Zaman, promoted to open the innings, had made a decent start with three boundaries in eight deliveries before edging one behind to be caught by the wicketkeeper on 15. The dismissal was referred to the TV Umpire who after much deliberation adjudged it as out confirming that the ball bounced after landing into the gloves of Sanju Samson.

Zaman wasn’t happy with the call though, as was Pakistan captain Salman Agha.

“Unhone IPL me bhi toh umpiring karni hai [He has to umpire in the IPL too],” Afridi said with a cheeky grin while analysing Pakistan’s defeat on Samaa TV.

Another former Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Yusuf agreed with Afridi, claiming the match official didn’t check the catch with enough angles to arrive at the decision.

“They didn’t even check many angles. Fakhar had hit three fours and was dealing with Bumrah with ease in the first over. His wicket was crucial for India,” Yusuf said.

‘Umpires Can Make Mistakes’

Pak captain Salman said to him the ball appeared to have bounced before nestling into the gloves of wicketkeeper.  “Umpires can make mistakes. But it did look like it bounced ahead of the keeper to me. I might be wrong. The way (Fakhar) was batting, if he had batted through the power play, we would probably have scored 190,” Salman said at the post-match press conference.

Pakistan eventually finished at 171/5 thanks to a measured half-century from opener Sahibzada Farhan (58 off 45). In reply, Abhishek Sharma blasted 39-ball 74 while Shubman Gill made 28-ball 47 as India chased down the target in 18.5 overs for a six-wicket win.