Mohammed Shami Criticizes Inzamam-ul-Haq’s Comments on Arshdeep Singh During T20 World Cup

During the T20 World Cup 2024, former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq made a contentious claim against Indian pacer Arshdeep Singh. He implied that the left-arm bowler was engaging in ball tampering. Referring to Arshdeep’s bowling against Australia, Inzamam stated: “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… If it was Pakistani bowlers (reverse swinging the ball) this would have been a big issue. 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.”

India’s star bowler Mohammed Shami, the top wicket-taker at the ODI World Cup 2023, reacted strongly to these allegations. Shami himself was previously accused of similar wrongdoing during the 2023 World Cup. Former Pakistan player Hasan Raza claimed that India was using balls with an implanted device, which allegedly gave Shami extra swing.

“I have said in an interview that I will cut the ball and show if there is a device or not. Now they’ve come up with another example. They said, ‘How can Arshdeep Singh get reverse swing?’ I want to say only one thing to Inzamam bhai. I respect him a lot. If you do the same thing, isn’t it ball-tampering? Those who do well against them become their target. India and Pakistan are arch-rivals,” Shami said on Shubhankar Mishra’s YouTube channel.

“I don’t expect that despite being ex-players you can say such things. Even Wasim Akram said how umpires give you the ball and it is not possible to plant any device in it. This type of cartoongiri is not good. These statements are there to fool people.”