Former Pakistan cricketer lambasts Shami over “indecent” remarks about Inzamam

Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali slammed India pacer Mohammed Shami for using “indecent” remarks about legendary batter Inzamam-ul-Haq.

Shami, on Saturday, reignited the reserve-swing debate, which started when Inzamam-ul-Haq questioned Indian pacers’ ability to reverse the ball early during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.

Indian bowlers were on a roll in the 20-team tournament, the highlight of which was when they defended 30 runs off as many deliveries in the nerve-wracking final against South Africa.

But, former Pakistan captain Inzamam, while citing Arshdeep Singh’s example, questioned how India bowlers reverse swung the ball in just the 15th over during their Super Eights fixture against Australia.

“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,” stated Inzamam on a local news channel.

“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,” he added.

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Inzamam-ul-Haq’s concerns did not sit well with Mohammed Shami, who in a local YouTube podcast, did not mince his words in hitting back at the former Pakistan captain.

“They had accused me of putting a device into the ball during the 2023 ODI World Cup. They recently brought out another foolish theory on Arshdeep Singh. I respect Inzamam-ul-Haq a lot, and one doesn’t expect him to make such statements. They are the ones who started this reverse swing, and when we do it, they have a problem,” Shami said.

Meanwhile, former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali, on his YouTube channel, expressed his disappointment with Mohammed Shami’s statement and termed his remarks about Inzamam-ul-Haq, indecent.

“When Shami talks about Inzi bhai and calls him a cartoon, that’s not right. Inzamam has led this country and captained it. Shami, your choice of words isn’t good. We praise your bowling, but you should have chosen your words better. You didn’t pick your words well, and that hurt me,” stated Basit.

“If you think Inzi bhai said something wrong, say it nicely. Don’t call him a cartoon and all that. Have some respect. He’s a senior. You should respect your seniors. If you don’t, cricket will make you cry 300 days out of 365 and only make you happy for 65 days. So, please don’t do this, it’s a personal request,” he added.

“Be a bit more careful, you can’t just say anything anywhere. Whatever question is asked, you keep giving ‘behuda’ (indecent) answers. I’m using the right word, ‘behuda (indecent)’. Aapne behuda zabaan use kiya hai (You’ve used indecent language). Your elders probably never taught you this,” Basit concluded.

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