Pakistan cricket team players were abused and manhandled by irate fans after their 3-0 whitewash at the hands of New Zealand in Mount Maunganui on Saturday with allrounder Khushdil Shah coming to blows with a fan.
A video sent to Telecomasia.net by a fan showed Khushdil and star batter Babar Azam trying to trace a man who was constantly chanting against Pakistan and team players. Police said two fans were expelled from the Bay Oval Stadium on Pakistan team management's complaint.
Khushdil said anything against the country was not accepted and slogans angered him no end.
They were criticising players and the team but when they started abusing my country I got angry and went to this man but he did not stop. It was only after that I confronted him.
Khushdil told Telecomasia.net
Pakistan team management said some Afghan nationals escalated the tension.
There was some trouble from the crowd and a few Afghan spectators escalated the situation by using further inappropriate language in Pashto over which Khushdil went to them and tried to stop them.
An official statement said
Khushdil was in the team dug out as he was not part of the third and final ODI which Pakistan lost by 43 runs to lose the series 3-0. They lost the first match in Napier by 84 runs and the second in Hamilton by 73 runs.
Following the Pakistani team's complaint, stadium officials intervened and ejected the two disruptive spectators.
The statement added
Photos circulating on social media showed Khushdil is stopped by a Pakistan reserve player Irfan Khan and a policeman as he tried to cross the fence to take on the abusing fan. Pakistanis residing in New Zealand were at the Bay Oval in good numbers but were left disappointed at the team's performance.