File photo of Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mohammed Shami© AFP
During the T20 World Cup 2024, former Pakistan captain Inzamam ul Haq made a strange claim against Indian pacer Arshdeep Singh. He indirectly said that the left-arm pacer was tampering with the ball. Drawing reference to his bowling against Australia, Inzamam said: “Arshdeep Singh, when he was bowling the 15th over, the ball was reversing. is it too early (for reverse swing) with the new ball? This means the ball was ready for reverse swing by the 12th or the 13th over. Umpires should keep their eyes open (to spot) these things…If it was Pakistani bowlers (reverse swinging the ball) this would have been a big issue. We know reverse swing very well and if Arshdeep can come in the 15th over and start reversing the ball, it means some serious work had been done before.”
India star bowler Mohammed Shami, top wicket-taker at the ODI World Cup 2023, has reacted strongly to the allegations. Shami himself was the target of a strange charge during the 2023 World Cup. Former Pakistan player Hasan Raza said that India were getting different type of balls, with a device implanted in it, and that was the reason Shami was getting extra swing.
“I have said in an interview that I will cut the ball and show if there is a device or not. Abhi ek aur namuna khod ke dia hai inhone. They said, ‘How can Arshdeep Singh get reverse swing?’ I want to say only one thing to Inzamam bhai. I respect him a lot. If you do the same thing, isn’t it ball-tampering? Those who do well against them, will be their target. India and Pakistan are arch-rivals,” Shami said on Shubhankar Mishra’s YouTube channel.
“I don’t expect that despite being ex-players you can say such thing. Even Wasim Akram said how umpires give you the ball and it is not possible to plant any device in it. This type of cartoongiri is not good. These statements are there to fool people.”
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