‘He should be a gentleman’: Amir reveals what Afridi told Afghan pacer after LPL spat

Pakistan paceman Mohammad Amir has opened up on the incident that took place during a Lanka Premier League match recently, involving him and Afghan paceman Naveen-ul-Haq. The duo was involved in a heated exchange towards the end of the match between Kandy Tuskers and Galle Gladiators.

After the match got over, Gladiators captain and Amir’s teammate Shahid Afridi was seen giving a piece of his mind to the young paceman from Afghanistan. The former Pakistan great later took to Twitter to express his feelings.

“My advise to the young player was simple, play the game and don’t indulge in abusive talk. I have friends in Afghanistan team and we have very cordial relations. Respect for teammates and opponents is the basic spirit of the game,” Afridi wrote.

Amir in an interview with Faizan Najeeb on ‘The Cricket Talk’ spoke about the incident in detail.

“He (Naveen-ul-Haq) is a youngster and he will learn with time. This is a part of cricket. I used to get involved in spats with batsmen when I was new to cricket.

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“It happens in the heat of the moment and there is nothing personal in it. If you look at me these days I don’t sledge batsmen at all. I am friendly with most of the batsmen. One should focus on the bowling and show aggression when you get a wicket,” Amir said.

The two players continued to exchange words even after the match got over and Amir said that the Afghan paceman was in a mood to argue.

“As I said it happens in the heat of the moment. We had lost the match so even I was a bit angry. But he was constantly looking to argue. As you know the rules of cricket do not permit us to behave in a way which goes against the spirit of the game. It should not happen to be honest as it doesn’t look good for those who are watching the game,” Aamir added.

When asked about what Shahid Afridi had to say to the youngster, Amir said Afridi was asking him to be a gentleman.

“Shahid Bhai was trying to make him understand that these aren’t the type of ethics we should have, that he should not behave like this with his seniors and that he should be a gentleman; This is cricket and you get hit for 4s and 6s but you can also get wickets,” Amir concluded.