Asia Cup 2025: Umpire Ruchira Palliyaguruge gets hit on his head, leaves the field midway through PAK vs UAE clash

Published - 18 Sept 2025, 09:39 IST | Updated - 18 Sept 2025, 09:40 IST

Sri Lankan umpire Ruchira Palliyaguruge was caught in the middle of an unfortunate incident in the crucial Group A fixture between Pakistan and the UAE in the 2025 Asia Cup at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai, on Wednesday, September 17.

The incident happened in the second innings of the encounter as the UAE were chasing a 147-run target. After the fifth ball of the fifth over, the fielder lobbed the ball back towards the bowler, Saim Ayub. However, Palliyaguruge had his back turned towards the ball, and it caught him on the back of his head. Thankfully, the ball wasn't thrown with force, but it stung nonetheless.

The Pakistan players rushed in to check on the veteran umpire. Ayub removed Palliyaguruge's hat before Pakistan's physio came out to the middle and checked on him. It seemed like a concussion test was conducted. Palliyaguruge eventually decided to leave the field, favouring the area around his left ear.

Reserve umpire, Bangladesh's Gazi Sohel, stepped in for Palliyaguruge for the rest of the match, where Pakistan emerged victorious by 41 runs.

Earlier in the match, Pakistan posted 146/9, after Fakhar Zaman scored a brilliant 50 off 36 balls, belting two fours and three sixes. Shaheen Shah Afridi also contributed with a quickfire 29* off 14 balls to help Pakistan cross the 140-run mark. Junaid Siddique was the pick of the bowlers for the UAE, finishing with figures of 4/18 in four overs.

In reply, the UAE got off to a decent start, adding 19 runs in the first couple of overs. However, the Pakistani bowling unit, especially the spinners, applied the brakes and kept building pressure on the UAE batters. Rahul Chopra top-scored with a run-a-ball 35, but the UAE batters failed to rotate strike, and the required run rate kept climbing. Eventually, the home side was bowled out for 105 in 17.4 overs.

Asia Cup 2025: UAE vs PAK, Match 10 - Who Said What?

Shaheen, Haris Rauf, and Abrar Ahmed bagged two wickets apiece for the Men in Green. The former was named Player of the Match for his all-round heroics. With this win, Pakistan joined India in the Super-Four stage of the tournament.