Watch: An incident in the PSL involving Pakistan speedster Haris Rauf kicked up a storm on social media, after the quick appeared to have slapped teammate Kamran Ghulam following a dropped catch in the Peshawar Zalmi-Lahore Qalandars match on February 21.

The incident occurred in the second over of the match, during Peshawar Zalmi’s innings. The second delivery of the over from Qalandars’ Haris Rauf saw opener Hazratullah Zazai getting a leading edge off a full ball, which plopped towards the point fielder. Fielder Kamran Ghulam, though, couldn’t latch on, putting down a rather straightforward catch.

Three balls later, Rauf had Mohammad Haris dismissed off a short one that was pulled straight down to fine-leg, with Fawad Ahmed completing the catch. The dismissal fired up Haris, who was seen aggressively celebrating the wicket with his teammates. When Ghulam appeared in front of him, Rauf proceeded to violently strike his face with his hand, following it with a roar.

It’s unclear as to whether it was a playful act by Rauf or an actual moment of rage. Ghulam, though, continued to pat and congratulate Rauf, which suggested that it wasn’t all too serious. Later, another clip on social media featuring the two saw Rauf cheerfully embracing Ghulam.

A section of social media users weren’t amused by Rauf’s violent reaction, arguing that the player should receive some sort of punishment. Others supported the quick, suggesting that the act did not mean any genuine harm.

Later at night, Lahore Qalandars’ social media handles posted a video of the two cheerfully discussing foosball after the game, titled “Two best friends of our #Qalandars family sharing the lighter moments after #LQvPZ game”, further assuaging doubts that all was well between the two.

At the time of writing, there’s been no statement from either of the two players or the PSL regarding the incident, which suggests that Rauf could have been let go without being officially reprimanded. Local Pakistan news outlets report that Rauf was let go with a warning from the match referee.3

Watch the incident and the follow-up here:

https://twitter.com/Pola_620/status/1495800502700937226?t=7uc_48fuWdlXpMmCYBihyw&s=19

 

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