“They need to work in the IPL also” - Shahid Afridi takes a cheeky dig at on-field umpires on Fakhar Zaman’s controversial dismissal vs India

Former Pakistan all-rounder and analyst Shahid Afridi has sparked a new controversy with his latest comment on the on-field umpiring decisions in the game between India and Pakistan in the Super Four clash in the Asia Cup 2025 campaign on Sunday, September 21, in Dubai.

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Speaking about Fakhar Zaman’s controversial dismissal off Hardik Pandya in the powerplay overs, Afridi, while speaking on Samaa TV, has taken a cheeky dig, stating that these umpires need to work in the Indian Premier League as well.

“They need to work in the IPL also,” Afridi said.

Moving into the details of the incident, in the third over of Pakistan’s innings, Fakhar Zaman, who came out to open the innings with three impressive boundaries, edged an off-cutter from Hardik Pandya to the wicketkeeper Sanju Samson, who dived forward to claim the catch.

The on-field umpires were quick enough to send the decision to the third umpire, who took his own time, seeing multiple angles before giving it out. However, this decision didn’t go down well with the Pakistan cricketing fraternity. 

On the other hand, former Pakistani batter and analyst Mohammad Yousuf also stated that Fakhar started off well against star Indian bowlers, but his innings was cut short because of a poor umpiring decision.

"He was our main player, he started off well, hitting a few boundaries against world-class bowlers (Jasprit Bumrah)," Mohammad Yousuf said.

Moreover, the Pakistan skipper, Salman Ali Agha, who attended the post-match press conference, has reckoned that the ball bounced before making it to the keeper’s gloves, adding that umpires can make mistakes.

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“I don’t really know about the decision. As far as I’m concerned, I thought it bounced. Umpires can make mistakes, and that’s understandable. To me, it looked like it bounced, but I could be wrong,” Salman Ali Agha stated in the post-match press conference.

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