Pakistan’s T20I captain Salman Ali Agha has raised concerns over the contentious dismissal of opener Fakhar Zaman during the Super Four clash of the ACC Men’s Asia T20 Cup 2025 against India at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
Addressing a press conference after Pakistan’s second successive defeat to India in the tournament, Agha voiced his reservations about the decision.
“I don’t know about the decision. As far as I am concerned, it looked like the ball bounced before being collected. Obviously, it’s the umpire’s job and they can make mistakes. I have no problem with that. But to me, it did look like it bounced,” said Agha.
“I might be wrong, I don’t know. The way Fakhar was batting, if he had continued through the powerplay, we could probably have scored around 190,” he added.
The incident took place on the third delivery of the third over of Pakistan’s innings. Fakhar Zaman attempted to drive at an off-cutter from Hardik Pandya, edging the ball towards wicketkeeper Sanju Samson.
The delivery, however, lost pace off the pitch, forcing Samson to dive forward to take the catch.
Given the close proximity of the ball to the ground at the point of collection, the on-field umpires referred the decision to the third umpire. Fakhar, appearing confident that the ball had touched the turf, waited for the verdict.
After several replays from multiple angles, third umpire Ruchira Palliyaguruge adjudged Fakhar out. The left-hander stood momentarily in disbelief before walking back to the pavilion.
On his return, he was seen discussing the decision with head coach Mike Hesson, seemingly surprised at the outcome.
The dismissal immediately ignited debate on social media, with fans and former players criticising the umpiring standards in the high-profile encounter.
Former Pakistan cricketers Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Amir, and Fawad Alam were among those who strongly condemned the decision, calling it “unacceptable” in a match of such magnitude.
Meanwhile, India secured their second victory over Pakistan in the ongoing tournament.
Batting first, the green shirts posted 171-5 in 20 overs, but the men in blue successfully chased down the target in 18.5 overs with four wickets in hand, thanks to opener Abhishek Sharma’s match-winning knock of 74 off 39 balls.
For the unversed, India will face Bangladesh in their next match at the same venue on Wednesday.
