Rahmanullah Gurbaz called Pakistan pacer Naseem Shah “a close friend” after the duo was involved in a heated exchange during the first game of the ongoing Lanka Premier League (LPL) between Jaffna Kings and Colombo Strikers.

Naseem Shah picked the wicket of Rahmanullah Gurbaz after being hit for six and gave the Afghan batter an aggressive sendoff. Gurbaz walked to the pavilion without giving any response to the bowler.

However, despite the heated altercation with Naseem Shah, Gurbaz called him ‘a close friend’.

“Naseem Shah is a close friend, we have known each other for a long time as we both belong to the Pashtun community so it’s nothing like that,” he said.

“These things are part of the game; if you hit a six against a bowler and he gets you out, he might give a reaction, but people take things out of proportion.”

The situation between Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Naseem Shah escalated quickly as fans took things out of proportion on social media creating a buzz.

“We have a very good relationship between us, it is just a healthy banter. Sometimes I hit him, sometimes he gets me out,” Gurbaz shared.

He also praised Naseem Shah highly as a bowler, “Naseem is a very good bowler, there is no doubt about his skills, and he will get better with time.”

Naseem Shah also echoed the same sentiments as they met after the game and engaged in a friendly conversation.

“Gurbaz is a good friend of mine. We had a friendly banter and challenged each other just as friends would. He hit me a six, and subsequently, I told him that I took his wicket for that six. I was also smiling during the banter,” he said.

He also stressed that people like to hyperbolize things in the social media era, “However, as we all know, these are social media times – people exaggerate and make things up in whatever way they want. But this is what happens in cricket. We both met afterwards pleasantly, talked to each other, and we are good friends,”

“Things look different on TV when you get closer to each other. So it was more like you are playing single wicket with friends. There’s no such concept of friendship in cricket; however, both of us are good friends.” he further added.

Naseem Shah is representing Colombo Strikers, while Rahmanullah Gurbaz is playing for Jaffna Kings in the LPL. Naseem Shah is the joint-leading wicket-taker with eight wickets and Rahmanullah Gurbaz has scored 131 runs at a strike rate of 132.32.

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