India was announced as the winner despite not batting in the final.
Afghanistan pacer Fareed Malik was not happy with the fact that his team was deprived of the gold medal in the Asian Games, saying the medal should have been shared between India and the Afghan team.
Notably, India was announced as the winner of the Asian Games final after play was not possible in the final at Zheijang University of Technology Cricket Field last week due to rain.
Batting first, Afghanistan scored 112 for five when the rain interrupted the match. And then persistent rain caused the match to be abandoned, resulting in Team India being handed the gold medal thanks to their high seeding.
After Afghanistan had to settle for the silver medal—their third consecutive Asian Games silver after 2010 and 2014—Malik, one of the traveling reserves in the Afghanistan squad for the World Cup 2023, expressed his disappointment over the fact that the winner was decided on a ranking basis.
As reported by PTI, Malik said after arriving India: “Aadha aadha kaat dena chaiye tha (laughs). The gold should have been shared as the game was abandoned. Awarding on the basis of rankings, lets just say it wasn't ideal. Match hota to maza aata. It would have been a lot of fun.”
Speaking about the experience of playing in a non-cricket nation like China, Malik said: “It was nice but people in the stadium did not have a lot of knowledge about the game. They were clapping for everything whether someone got out or when a six was hit.”
Malik said that the food was an issue in China, but his teammates managed to find a Muslim restaurant in the vicinity; otherwise, it could have been an issue for them.
(With PTI Inputs)