T20 World Cup: Inzamam-ul-Haq accuses India of ball tampering against Australia

New Delhi, June 26 (IANS) Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq accused India of ball tamparing during the Super 8 match against Australia on Monday.

Inzaman said it’s not possible for the ball to reverse swing in the 15th over of the game indicating that “some serious work had been done” on the ball.

“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,” Inzamam said on Pakistani news channel 24 News.

Meanwhile, former player Saleem Malik agreed with the Inzaman and went on to suggest that officials tend to turn a blind eye towards India.

“Inzy, I always say this, eyes are kept shut when it comes to some teams, and India is one of those teams. I remember in Zimbabwe, when Wasim (Akram) was bowling, he made it wet, and we all were surprised at it; as in how come one side was wet, and when I went and complained I was fined quite heavily,” added Saleem Malik.

India’s 26-run victory over Australia went a long way in helping to knock the Australian side out of the Super 8 stage of the tournament. Afghanistan then officially knocked the Aussie’s out of the tournament with a win over Bangladesh and booked their place in the semifinals.

Afghanistan will be hoping to reach the finals of an ICC Men’s tournament for the first time in the country’s history when they take on South Africa in the first semifinal.

India will take on England in the second semifinal in what will be a rematch of the semifinals of the 2022 T20 World Cup where England had won by 10 wickets.

Both semifinal matches will take place on June 27 (IST).

–IANS

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