Right-arm India pacer Mohammed Shami 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.
Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel
Meanwhile, Mohammed Shami, at a local YouTube Podcast did not mince his words and slammed Inzamam-ul-Haq over his remarks.
“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.
Shami continued to call out the former captain by claiming that Pakistan cricketers were involved in ball tampering in the past.
“Before saying anything to the Indian bowlers, they should remember the past incidents when their players were caught while tampering with the ball. Pakistan players want to make their public fool, and when their team is not performing well, they come out with allegations,” said Mohammed Shami.
READ: Inzamam-ul-Haq hits back at Rohit Sharma amid reverse-swing debate