Ahead of the India vs England T20 World Cup semi-final, a very strong accusation from Pakistan great Inzamam ul Haq went viral. On his target was Indian cricket team pace bowler Arshdeep Singh and the former Pakistan captain claimed that Arshdeep Singh was getting reverse swing due to some ‘serious work’ on the ball. Indirectly, he meant that Arshdeep was unfairly tampering the ball, which is a punishable offence by the ICC.
Speaking to a Pakistani news channel, Inzamam accused Arshdeep and the Indian side of working on the ball, which helped the lanky pacer generate a reverse swing in his second spell.
“When Arshdeep was bowling the 15th over, it was reverse swinging. Is that too early with the new ball? This means the ball was ready by the 12th-13th over, it was capable of reversing. It was reverse-swinging in the 15th. Umpires need to keep their eyes open,” Inzamam told the news channel.
Inzamam further stated that, “If Pakistan bowlers did this, there would have been hue and cry. We know how to reverse it really well. If Arshdeep can reverse it in the 15th, there’s been some serious work done on the ball.
“If Bumrah does it (you can understand), his action is like that. When others with a specific action or speed do it, it means the ball has been prepared in a special way,” added Inzamam.
Rohit was asked about Inzamam’s comment in the pre-match media interaction here and he dismissed it, advising the former batter to have an open mind.
“Abhi kya jawab du iska mein bhai (what answer should I give, brother). Wickets are so dry (here) as you are playing in a sunny weather. All teams are getting reverse (swing). Sometimes dimaag ko kholna zaroori hai (Need to open your mind). You need to understand what the conditions are. This is not Australia or England. That’s what I will say,” Rohit said, when asked to respond to Inzamam’s observation.
Inzamam ul haq “Dimag ko kholo Bhikhari”
ROHIT SHARMA
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India defeated 2021 T20 World Cup champions Australia by 24 runs in Gros Islet on Monday to set up a semifinal clash against England with left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh grabbing three wickets to halt the Kangaroos’ charge in the chase of 205.
India scored 205 batting first and then restricted Australia to 181/7.
Australia were in the game and required 81 runs in eight overs with eight wickets in hand. But they lost the plot during Arshdeep’s second spell, which fetched him two wickets in the 16th and 18th overs.
With PTI inputs
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