Credit: Twitter
The Asia Cup has been one of the most prestigious cricket tournaments in the world for the better part of the last four decades. In 1983, after the foundation of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), the continental event was launched to promote goodwill among the nations in the region. The inaugural champions from 1984, India have won the Asia Cup for the record seven times, including six in the ODI and one in the T20I format.
Sri Lanka, the island nation has attained the coveted trophy six times, five times in ODIs and once in T20Is. Pakistan are the only other team to lay their hands on the championship, winning it in 2000 and 2012. The 2023 edition of the Asia Cup is scheduled to be played in both Sri Lanka and Pakistan in the ODI format, starting from August 31. The final of the tournament will be held on September 17 in the island nation.
Notably, since the first continental event was played in UAE, the best teams from Asia have created some of the most memorable moments on the field, enthralling cricket fans in the process. But there have been numerous altercations in the tournament, which haven’t been looked back fondly by the players or fans.
Here are the five most heated moments in the Asia Cup history.
Hasan Ali vs Asghar Afghan and Hashmatullah Shahidi in 2018
In the 2018 edition of the Asia Cup, the first match of the Super Four stage saw Pakistan defeat Afghanistan in a close encounter in Abu Dhabi. During the pursuit of the 268-run target, Hashmatullah Shahidi, who was batting well for Afghanistan, played a stroke straight toward Hasan Ali in his follow-through. The frustrated Pakistan fast bowler received the ball and gestured to throw the ball towards the batter.
Later in the same innings, Asghar Afghan, the captain of Afghanistan, who was batting alongside Hashmatullah Shahidi, took on Hasan Ali by brushing his shoulder with him, while completing a run. This led to Afghan and Ali both being found guilty of breaching Level 1 of the ICC Code of Conduct, getting fined 15% of their match fees in the process.
