Arshdeep Singh is the highest wicket-taker for India in T20 World Cup 2024.| Getty
Former Pakistan captain Inzamam Ul Haq made a controversial remark, where he asked the match officials to keep their eyes open as he insinuated that India’s Arshdeep Singh tampered with the ball, as he got it to reverse swing early against Australia in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024.
The Former Pakistan skipper, talking about India’s win over Australia in their final Super 8 Group 1 fixture on a Pakistan TV show, targeted Arshdeep Singh, who picked three wickets in India’s 24-run win.
He questioned how the 25-year-old pacer managed to reverse the ball in the 15 over itself and went on to add that the Umpires should keep their eyes open to spot these things.
“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,” said Inzamam.
Inzamam’s former teammate Salim Malik chimed in and said that when it comes to certain teams eyes remain shut.
“Inzy, I always say this, eyes are kept shut when it comes to some teams, and India is one of those teams. I remember in Zimbabwe when Wasim (Akram) was bowling, he made it wet, and we all were surprised at it; as in how come one side was wet, and when I went and complained I was fined quite heavily,” said Malik.
Inzamam went on to add that if a Pakistani bowler managed to reverse the ball this early, a lot of noise would have been made.
“If it was Pakistani bowlers (reverse swinging the ball) this would have been a big issue (shor mach jaata). 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,” he added.
“Because for reverse swing … look Bumrah can do it, because of his action; but for some bowlers – their action and their speed, the ball has to be in that perfect condition and prepared well (to reverse). It could be that the wicket was hard and rough, that could be the reason (for the ball getting scruffed up on one side), but these things have to be noticed,” Inzamam concluded.
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