Former Pakistan skipper Mohammad Hafeez took a subtle dig at India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin for sitting out in the match against the arch-rivals on Sunday (September 4) in Dubai. 

Ravindra Jadeja's injury and Avesh Khan's illness prompted India to alter their bowling lineup. While Ashwin was expected to replace Jadeja in the opening Super-Four match, the team management chose Deepak Hooda and Ravi Bishnoi instead.

According to Hafeez, Ashwin’s absence from the recent India versus Pakistan game is due to him conceding a couple of sixes against Shahid Afridi in the Asia Cup 2014.

“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 in a video posted on his Twitter account.

Here's the clip:

Chasing 246 to win with just one wicket in hand, Pakistan needed 9 runs off the last 4 balls and Afridi had smashed 2 consecutive sixes off Ashwin’s bowling to seal the victory for his team.

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In that game, Hafeez was adjudged Player of the Match for his match-winning all-round performance, taking two wickets and scoring 75 off 117 balls.

Meanwhile, Ashwin has picked 13 wickets in as many white-ball matches against the Men in Green at an economy rate of 5.08 and a strike rate of 43.2. 

In the ongoing Asia Cup 2022, Rohit Sharma and his men will face Sri Lanka in Dubai on Tuesday (September 06) in a do-or-die encounter.