Srinagar: Former Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Hafeez has made huge claim about continued absence of senior off spinner R Ashwin from India playing XI in the ongoing Asia Cup.
R Ashwin has not been regular in Team India T20 squad and in the ongoing Asia Cup he was kept in sidelines in first two matches.
Mohammad Hafeez while commenting about R Ashwin absence from playing XI claimed that the 2014 Asia Cup sixes hit by Shahid Afridi of Ashwin bowling are the reason behind India spinners absence.
“Shahid bhai, bahut-bahut shukriya. Woh jo Asia Cup 2014 mein aapne do chakke lagaa ke match finish kiya na, yeh uska impact hai (Thank you, Shahid Afridi. It is the impact of your two sixes to finish an Asia Cup 2014 match),” Hafeez said on PTV Sports show, the video of which he shared on his Twitter account.
CLICK here to Watch what Hafeez said about Ashwin
Shahid Afridi hit two blistering sixes in the last over to seal a nail-biting win over arch-rivals India in the 2014 Asia Cup.
Pakistan put India in to bat after winning the toss and restricted them to a below-par total of 245/8. Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Maqsood then stitched a crucial partnership to take their team to the doorstep of victory but it all boiled down to Pakistan needing 13 runs off the last two overs. Ravichandran Ashwin sent back Saeed Ajmal on the first delivery of the 20th over, which preceded Bhuvneshwar Kumar conceding just three runs and making it tricky for Pakistan and Afridi.
Afridi, who was watching the proceedings from the non-striker’s end, got the strike after last man Junaid Khan managed a single. The hard-hitter then smacked back-to-back sixes against Ashwin and took Pakistan to a memorable win.