ICC World Cup 2019: Afghanistan players in restaurant row in Manchester

Police were called after members of the Afghanistan squad were involved in an altercation at a Manchester restaurant on Monday.

The incident took place the night before Afghanistan’s World Cup match against England at Manchester’s Old Trafford, with the minnows going down to a colossal 150-run defeat -- their fifth loss in as many matches at the tournament. ((ICC World Cup 2019: Full Coverage))

According to the BBC, the unnamed squad members took exception to being filmed by a member of the public, and confronted him.

But Afghanistan captain Gulbadin Naib, speaking to reporters after the match, played down the incident by saying he had no fresh information to offer on the alleged altercation.

“No, I haven’t, so you can ask my security officer. I didn’t know anything about him, about them,” he said.

“It’s not a big issue for the team, for me.”

Earlier Tuesday, a statement issued by Greater Manchester Police confirmed that officers attended Akbar’s restaurant shortly after 11:15 pm local time (2215 GMT) on Monday.

“Shortly after 11.15 pm on Monday 17 June 2019, police were called to reports of an altercation at a premises on Liverpool Road in Manchester,” the statement said.

“Officers attended the scene. No one was injured and no arrests have been made. Enquiries are ongoing.”

On the field, hosts England, aided by some sloppy Afghanistan fielding, piled up their highest World Cup score of 397-6, with captain Eoin Morgan hitting a one-day international record 17 sixes in his 148.