Former Pakistan cricket captain Inzamam-ul-Haq stirred controversy by raising doubts about the fairness of Indian bowler Arshdeep Singh’s reverse swing during their Super 8 match against Australia. Inzamam remarked that Arshdeep managed to reverse swing the ball as early as the 15th over, which he suggested might indicate that the ball was prepared for this technique by the 12th or 13th over.
Inzamam’s comments have sparked debate, with some seeing them as hints of unfair play. He emphasized that the umpires need to be more alert to these situations. “If the ball starts reversing by the 15th over, it means it was set up for it by the 12th or 13th over. The umpires should be watching closely,” he said.
Adding fuel to the fire, Inzamam’s former teammate Salim Malik, who was banned for match-fixing in 2000, echoed these concerns. Malik suggested that umpires sometimes overlook such actions when involving specific teams, like India. He recalled an incident in Zimbabwe where Pakistani bowler Wasim Akram was penalized for a similar issue when the ball became wet during his bowling.
Inzamam further stated that if Pakistani bowlers had achieved such early reverse swing, it would have caused a significant uproar. “Had Pakistani bowlers done this, it would have turned into a big issue,” he added.
