Reports: Afghan cricketer approached by bookies
According to reports emerging from Wah Cricket, an Afghanistan cricketer was approached by an Indian bookie prior to Afghanistan's match against Pakistan in the ongoing Asia Cup. According to the reports, the cricketer is said to be the Afghan wicketkeeper - Mohammed Shahzad.
Shortly after being approached by the bookie, Shahzad reportedly reported it to his team manager, who consulted the Indian staff after which the matter was brought to the Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU).
Further reports also suggested that the Anti-Corruption Unit have received multiple reports about bookies in and around the area.
Afghanistan have now suffered two back-to-back heartbreaking defeats against Pakistan and Bangladesh respectively. Both the matches went right down to the very last over and Afghanistan had a chance to win both the matches.
In the first match against Pakistan, they failed to defend 10 runs off the final over as the experienced Shoaib Malik took his side over the line, smashing a six and a four.
In the second match against Bangladesh, Afghanistan required just 8 runs off the final over to win the match. However, Mustafizur Rahman held his nerve and bowled extremely well to defend those runs. Afghanistan ended up losing the match by 2 runs.
They will now face India in their final match of the Super 4 stage. They do not have any chance of qualifying for the final despite having a better net run-rate than Pakistan and Bangladesh. However, they will look to bow out of the tournament on a high by defeating India, who have not lost a single match in the tournament so far.