Former Pakistan cricketer Inzamam-ul-Haq has pressed some serious accusations against Indian pacer Arshdeep Singh, claiming that the young bowler had tampered with the ball during India’s recent T20 World Cup 2024 match against Australia. India triumphed a 24 runs win against Australia and secured their place in the semifinals of the tournament.
In the match, the Indian batters set a formidable target of 206 runs. During Australia’s chase, their batsmen initially dominated, putting pressure on the Indian bowlers. However, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma brought Arshdeep Singh into the attack during the middle overs. Despite bowling in this phase, Arshdeep managed to generate significant reverse swing, raising eyebrows and leading Inzamam to suspect foul play, especially as Arshdeep conceded just 7 runs in the 16th over.
‘The umpires should keep their eyes open here too’ – Inzamam Ul Haq on umpires favoring India
Inzamam expressed his concerns, suggesting that Arshdeep must have tampered with the ball to achieve such reverse swing early in the innings. “Arshdeep Singh was able to reverse swing even in the 15th over. It is too early. It means that the ball was ready for reverse swing till the 13th over. The umpires should keep their eyes open here too. If the Pakistani bowlers had done something like this, there would have been a lot of noise,” Inzamam stated.
Supporting Inzamam’s allegations, former Pakistan captain Saleem Malik added that umpires tend to overlook infractions when certain teams, like India, are involved. “I’ve always said that the officials close their eyes when it comes to certain teams, India being one of them. I still remember that once when we were playing in Zimbabwe, Wasim made the ball wet. We were all surprised to see one side of the ball being wet. I went and complained to the umpires and I was fined for that,” Malik recalled.
India’s impressive victory against Australia has set up a semifinal clash with England, scheduled for June 27 in Guyana.
