Captains play down Sharma- Akmal incident

Indian skipper, Mahendran Singh Dhoni, and his Pakistani counterpart, Mohammad Hafeez, have both played down the incident involving Ishant Sharma and Kamran Akmal, which resulted in both players exchanging some heated words.


During the opening T20I clash, which concluded last night, Sharma and Akmal had a verbal argument during the 18th over of the match which boiled up to an extent that players and umpires had to intervene in the end. The Indian pacer cut a frustrating figure following the standing umpire’s decision to declare Shoaib Malik not-out for height, only after Akmal asked him to take the decision upstairs.

The very next delivery Akmal was then adjudged not-out after being beaten with a ball, which nipped backed in and missed the stumps by a whisker. Sharma exchanged some words, which ultimately provoked Akmal to do the same, forcing Suresh Raina to intervene and separate the two players.

However, Sharma took sweet revenge after he caught Akmal off Ashok Dinda, but skipper Dhoni said that the spat materialized because of a misunderstanding between the two.

"It happened because of some misunderstanding between the two. The bowler said something else and the batsman understood something else. I am pleased that Ishant had not abused him. We will try to keep this in check," Mahendra Singh Dhoni said.

 As for Hafeez, he also took a lighter view of the whole situation and said that the two players were caught in the heat of the situation.

"We have come here to play competitive cricket and such incidents do happen. It is a part of the game. However, Ishant and Akmal ended the issue on the ground by exchanging smiles at each other," he said.

Dhoni however, was not to impressed with the umpiring after Malik, who hit the winning six to guide his side to a five-wicket victory, was given a reprieve. "It was a fair decision but I am not sure if you are allowed to refer it (to the third umpire) or not."

The next clash between the two-subcontinent giants takes place at Ahmedabad, where the Men in Blue will be aiming to level the T20I series.