Team Canada player allegedly assaulted at Winnipeg cricket match
Cricketers shocked by violence at friendly tournament of 'gentleman sport'
Abdul Haseeb, a Winnipegger who plays for the national under-19 team, said he was hit twice by another cricket player after a dispute on the field.
The fight broke out after Haseeb, 18, refused to play for one of the teams in the annual tournament, he said.
Haseeb wanted to play for Team Canada, he said, but the captain of the Pakistan team refused to let him join the other team.
"I was okay with that. I was just simply questioning them on why I wasn't allowed to play for the other team," he said.
"And this guy from nowhere comes into the conversation, arguing with me, telling me to go away when I'm not even talking to him."
The man who slapped him was a cricket player from a team that wasn't playing that day, Haseeb said.
"He doesn't hit me once, he hits me twice. He keeps trying to hit me back, but I'm like trying to push him back."
Hammad Khan was one of the cricket players who tried to break up the fight.
He was shocked at what he saw, he said.
"We're just out here to have fun, enjoy good cricket, and I get a chance to play against a quality player, representing Canada -- that's how I was looking at it," Khan said.
Haseeb said he called police because he wants to prevent similar incidents in the future.
"Cricket is a sport that has no physical contact, and it's the most friendly sport. We call it a gentleman sport," he said.
Haseeb said the stress is the last thing he needs as he prepares to play with Team Canada at the 2015 Cricket World Cup in February.
The man accused of assaulting Haseeb has been released on a promise to appear in court on a future date. Police didn't release his name.
Haseeb also launched a complaint with the Manitoba Cricket Association.
He wants the player either suspended or banned from playing the sport.
"I want to make sure this never happens again, because if this can happen to me, to a national player, this can happen to anybody."