Pakistan national cricket team pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi has opened up about the heated on-field altercation with South African national cricket team batter Matthew Breetzke during the ODI tri-nation series clash in Karachi on Wednesday (February 12). The confrontation occurred when batter while taking a single nearly collided with Afridi as he ran between the wickets, leading to an exchange of words between the two.

afridi-breaks-silence-on-heated-verbal-exchange-with-breetzke

The incident took place in the 28th over of South Africa’s innings when Breetzke turned the ball to the on-side for a quick single. As he sprinted he almost collided with Afridi who seemed displeased with the action.

The tension escalated further when later in the same over Breetzke once again came close to running into the fast bowler. Both players engaged in a heated verbal exchange at the non-striker's end, prompting the on-field umpire and Pakistani players to intervene and separate them.

Breaking his silence on the altercation, Afridi admitted that his actions on the field were part of a strategy to unsettle Breetzke. "For the first time, Matthew didn’t say anything. I kept teasing him to get a wicket. Whatever happened on the field stayed there. However, after the match, Matthew and I met, shook hands, and became good friends" Shaheen explained.

During the interview Afridi also spoke about the role of the media in shaping narratives in the cricketing world :

"The media has an important role. The messages you send on social media are seen by everyone. Whatever good the media highlights reaches the entire world," he said.

He urged the media to promote positive aspects stating: "Here, there is no Babar or Shaheen; there is only Pakistan. As long as there is negativity, there will be no progress anywhere."