Naseem Shah opens up about heated exchange with Gurbaz

The fourth edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) kicked off on a high note with an exciting clash between Jaffna Kings and Colombo Strikers at the R Premadasa Stadium on Sunday.

Jaffna won the toss and started their innings with a bang. However, Colombo and Pakistan's pacer, Naseem Shah, gave a remarkable performance, disrupting Jaffna's momentum.

Naseem delivered the first significant blow by dismissing Jaffna's opener and Afghanistan's player, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, with an excellent display of bowling. Gurbaz walked back to the pavilion after his dismissal while Shah celebrated ecstatically and engaged in some sledging towards him.

Despite the provocation, Gurbaz remained composed and chose not to escalate the situation. He brushed off Naseem's gesture and continued to the dugout without getting involved in any heated confrontation, unbothered by the heated reaction.

While talking to a YouTube channel, Naseem revealed the details of the exchange between him and Gurbaz on crease. However, Naseem acknowledged the reality of the social media era, where things can be blown out of proportion.

"Gurbaz is a good friend of mine. When the match initially started, we had a friendly banter and challenged each other just as friends would do. 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. However, as we all know, these are social media times - people over-exaggerate and make things up in whatever way they want. But this is what happens in cricket. We both met afterward pleasantly, talked to each other, and we are good friends,' Naseem said.

Despite the banter on the field, Naseem and Gurbaz, after the match, met amicably and engaged in a friendly conversation.

"This all is a part of cricket which happens rather frequently. He smiled at me before passing by. 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.

The Colombo Strikers pre-signed Babar and Naseem prior to the auction, whereas purchased Iftikhar Ahmed, Wahab Riaz, and Mohammad Nawaz for $50,000, $40,000, and $30,000, respectively.