World Cup 2019: Kamran Akmal wants sports to be a medium of peace exemplifying the India-Pakistan match

On June 29, Pakistan and Afghanistan were involved in a heart-racing thriller at the Headingley in Leeds. The match went right down to the wire where the Men in Green prevailed, winning the match by three wickets courtesy of Imad Wasim’s calm head. Subsequently, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Co kept their hopes of qualifying for the semis alive with one match remaining against Bangladesh.

However, amidst some riveting display of cricket on the pitch, there was a moment of ugliness outside the stadium. A few of the Afghan supporters were seen, beating a Pakistan fan, brutally enough. Even after the encounter ended, there were fist-fights inside the stadium. At least a couple of fans were evicted from the Headingley Carnegie premises in Leeds after clashes broke out.

Not great signs at the Headingley

Bottles and bins were being thrown during the game and also after the game ended. Moreover, a section of the Pakistan fans went through the barricades and ran towards the ground. One Afghan player was reportedly hit during the commotion. The 34-year-old veteran Mohammad Nabi walked towards the boundary after which the security guards came to his rescue.

The developments definitely don’t fall in the spirit of the game and such incidents should be avoided. It’s not often that physical clashes happen in tournaments organised by the ICC. Meanwhile, Vikrant Gupta, a popular Indian journalist, condemned the occurring. Moreover, he also put forth the behaviour of the fans during the India-Pakistan match in Manchester as an example of the right spirit.

He took to Twitter and wrote, “Distressing visuals of Afghan fans clashing with Pakistan fans and players. You can’t do that in sport, no matter what your issues are. The India-Pak game was the perfect example of how players/fans from either side of the border coexisted. Pak fans appreciated Ind players too,”

Here is Vikrant’s tweet

Kamran Akmal, the Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman, was also not happy about matter. He agreed with Vikrant and said that sports should be a medium for spreading love and peace rather than hatred. Even he exemplified the India-Pakistan match for good behaviour amongst the fans.

Akmal replied to the tweet and wrote, “right vikrant…we should spread love&peace through sports and India Pak match is a perfect example of this on the field & outside the field both countries fans respect each other.& appreciate each other.

Here is Akmal’s reply