WATCH: Shadab Khan shares heartening moment with a fan; hugs him as he enters the field

Shadab Khan made a heartening gesture to a fan during the penultimate ODI of the series against West Indies, as he hug the field invader when he offered him a salute upon entering the pitch. 

The Pakistan vice-captain didn’t panic seeing the intruder and instead gleefully accepted his salute before offering him a tight hug which warmed the hearts of millions watching the game live. 

The incident took place halfway through the 39th over in Pakistan’s first-innings. About to face West Indies pacer Anderson Phillip, Shadab Khan was left puzzled briefly as to why the seamer has halted his run-up, before the batter saw a man running onto the deck towards him. 

Khan saw this member of the crowd standing there in salute at him and as the man went further near him, he took him in his arms in a moment that would stay with this intruder for the rest of his life. 

Shadab Khan gives the invader a moment of his lifetime 

Usually, players are wary of anyone that enters the field without the permission of the officials and on-ground security. Given the times, with Covid health restrictions absolutely paramount, any act of invasion is taken very seriously. 

But this was a break away from the trend, with a man running in from the square leg region and ending up having a hug with the batter involved – something that perhaps may have never happened before on a cricket field. 

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There have been instances where a player has gone after the invader and tried to harm him, but Shadab Khan became the first prominent name in recent history to have taken to the invader with lovely warmth and trusted his intentions in an interaction that began with a salute and ended with a hug. 

Shadab Khan fan enter in the ground and hug him.
Best moment 😍.
Video of the day.#PAKvWI pic.twitter.com/c51kmIXfMl

— Gokboru (@gokboru_se) June 10, 2022

Moments later, this fan was seen fist thumping and dancing his way back to his original position, while the on-ground security officials tried to grab hold of him. One can only hope he wasn’t given a stick for his act.