Former Pakistani cricketer and team captain Inzamam-ul-Haq made a strange accusation that Indian fast bowlers, including Arshdeep Singh, have been cheating by changing the condition of the ball during the 2024 T20 World Cup. Inzamam believes that the Indian bowlers are making the ball swing in a special way, which he thinks is important for their wins in the tournament. Key Indian bowlers like Arshdeep and Jasprit Bumrah have been performing very well, often helping their team win in the T20 World Cup.
Inzamam and Saleem Malik, both former captains of Pakistan, talked about Arshdeep’s reverse swing during a TV show on Pakistan’s 24 News HD. They mentioned that it’s too early for a fast bowler to get reverse swing in the 14th or 15th over of a game. Arshdeep first showed signs of reverse swing in the 16th over during India’s match against Australia on June 24. The second ball of that over went past both the batsman and the wicketkeeper, resulting in four byes. Arshdeep’s performance, where he took 3 wickets for 37 runs, was crucial in India’s victory against their rivals, securing their spot in the T20 World Cup semi-final against England.
Inzamam talked on a TV show called 24 News HD and shared his strange feeling about a situation. He even got support from Saleem Malik for his thoughts.
Inzamam mentioned, “When Arshdeep Singh was bowling the 15th over, the ball was starting to reverse swing. Isn’t it too early for that with a new ball? This shows the ball was probably ready for reverse swing by the 12th or 13th over. The umpires need to watch closely for these things… If it was Pakistani bowlers doing the reverse swing, it would have been a huge deal. We understand reverse swing well, and if Arshdeep can begin reversing the ball in the 15th over, it means some serious preparation was done earlier.”
“Inzy, I always mention this, people seem to ignore certain teams, and India is one of them. I recall in Zimbabwe, when Wasim (Akram) was bowling, he wet the ball, and we were all shocked; we wondered why one side was wet. When I complained about it, I got a big fine,” Malik explained.
This isn’t the first time former Pakistani cricket players have made shocking claims about Indian bowlers. Hasan Raza said that India put some chips inside the ball during the 2023 ODI World Cup, which made it look like Mohammed Shami was successful unfairly.
Bumrah has taken 11 wickets in 6 games, giving away runs at a rate of 4.08. Meanwhile, Arshdeep has taken 15 wickets in 6 games and is just one wicket behind the top bowler, Fazalhaq Farooqi. These two players will be very important when India plays against England in the T20 World Cup semi-final on June 27.
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