When Indian pacer Arshdeep Singh was causing havoc for the opposition in the T20 World Cup 2024, former Pakistani cricketer Inzamam-ul-Haq made the absurd accusation that maybe the Indian bowlers Shami had tampered with the ball. The Indian pacers were producing swing towards the end of the 14th over of the innings, which prompted his remarks. Mohammed Shami, a prominent pacer for India, described Inzamam’s comments as “cartoonish” in a recent conversation.
“The team that plays against Pakistan is singled out there. Let’s say I mispressed the button while using the device to bowl. I bowled an outswinger when I should have been bowling an inswinger, which resulted in a boundary. Shami had stated on Shubhankar Mishra’s YouTube channel, “Ye cartoon giri kahin aur chal sakti hai, yeh public ko bewakoof banane wali baate hain (This kind of cartoonish behaviour can happen elsewhere; these are just ways to fool the public).”
However, Shami counterattack infuriated former Pakistani cricketer Basit Ali, who pointed out that the Indian pacer’s word choice was repugnant. He asked Shami to show some decency towards the former Pakistan captain, saying that his remarks on a legend such as Inzamam were offensive.
Say it politely if you believe that Inzi bhai mentioned something incorrect. Don’t refer to him as a cartoon and such. Show some decency. He is in his senior year. Respect for senior citizens is owed. If not, cricket will only make you joyful for 65 days out of 365 and will make you cry 300 days out of 365. Thus, this is a personal request, so please don’t do it,” Basit posted on his YouTube page.
“Take some extra caution; you can’t just say anything at any place. You always respond with “behuda” (indecent) answers to questions. The term “behuda (indecent)” is exactly what I’m using. You’ve used vulgar language, so go ahead and use it again. Most likely, your elders never told you this,” he said.
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It is important to remember that similar claims have been made in the past. Hasan Raza, a cricket player from Pakistan, said that during the 2023 ODI World Cup, the BCCI and ICC gave special balls to Indian pacers. He even went so far as to say that the ball had been given an extra coating to improve its swing. Raza further asserted that the balls had a “microchip” while players like Mohammed Siraj, Shami, and Jasprit Bumrah were demonstrating their incredible ball-swinging abilities. Shami, incidentally, had already replied in his own unique manner at that time.
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